Costes by Driade: the iconic armchair by Philippe Starck

Some objects are universally recognized as icons. One of these is the splendid Costes armchair made in 1984, which marked the beginning of the collaboration between Philippe Starck and Driade in addition to the introduction of the then unknown designer in Italy.

When this object is placed inside a space, it is immediately recognizable. This happens often with Driade furnishings. The chair was made for a Parisian coffee house, now closed, where the absolute nature of the shape was celebrated: an enveloping shell in dark wood and three legs positioned at strongly inclined angles.

This chair has a frame in steel tubing painted black, with a seat in curved plywood finished in one of the following: mahogany, ebonized mahogany, grey oak, striped wenge, or bamboo. The padding is in polyurethane foam and it is covered with fixed leather upholstery in black or light brown leather.