Babila chairs designed by Odo Fioravanti blow out 10 candles
2023 marks a special anniversary for Pedrali: 10 years of the Babila collection, designed by Odo Fioravanti. A collection that moves with great agility between tradition and innovation, its distinctive strength lies in simplicity and spontaneity, recalling a timeless shape.
The choice of the name derives from the designer's desire to pay tribute to the city of Milan: "I am not Milanese, but Milan is a city that loved me", explains the designer – "hence the name Babila, one of the Saints of the Ambrosian Church, which I have chosen to pay tribute to the city that brought me luck".
The collection itself can also be defined lucky, born in 2013 with the chair entirely made of wood, it has expanded year after year, with the addition of armchairs and stools in different materials and finishes.
"A family of chairs materialised with the idea of objects that function as a bridge, as a central position between the human body and the artificiality of industrial production. I had come to think of products that alternated between curved and straight lines. Curved lines that perfectly envelop the human body and straight lines that represent the artifice of human thought" – adds Odo Fioravanti.
Today Babila is a complete range of chairs that, in its simplicity manages to satisfy every need. The Babila Twist is the latest creation: an outdoor armchair in which the characteristic shape of the Babila armchair is transformed into a steel frame on which a rope is woven that creates a cozy space, completed with a cushion made of materials that withstand all weather conditions. The stringing of the Twist, woven in Italy by expert craftsmen, is made with a flat polypropylene rope that also wraps around the armrests, creating a pleasant play of light and shadow on the backrest. On the chair rests a comfortable padded cushion in fast-drying expanded polyurethane and covered with a fabric suitable for outdoor use. Babila Twist is characterised by the combination of the braided body and the steel tube frame equipped with slats for the seat, joined with screws that allow easy disassembly in order to recycle and replace the components.