These Reissues of Vladimir Kagan's Work Show a Different Side of the Renowned Furniture Designer's W

Vladimir Kagan is most known for his enormous, curving sofas (Vladimir Kagan Sofa). However, the famed furniture designer's work is more than just a succession of progressively twisting seats, spanning seven decades. With a new series of reissues for furniture supplier Holly Hunt, his old apprentice Chris Eitel, now the director of design for the Vladimir Kagan Design Group, is exposing another part of the late visionary's narrative.

"I had a desire to do some linear stuff, but I also wanted to make sure that it wasn't forgotten that not everything he did was a curve," Eitel tells Robb Report. "He had a more architectural look to him."

The Roll Back sofa, designed by Kagan in the 1960s, is one of the best examples of this type of design. It's a design that's rife with right angles and straight lines, save for the round back cushion, and it's mostly gone unnoticed until now. Eitel remembers falling in love with it after seeing it at Kagan's sister's home in Switzerland. Meanwhile, the Biscuit sofa, which features huge, dramatic curves throughout its design, is more in line with what fans have come to anticipate from the American designer.

All of the parts were updated with care while staying true to the original design. The majority of the changes are minor tweaks that take use of more modern engineering. Rollback, for example, has been improved by the addition of an internal spring mechanism. Of the research and design procedures, Eitel says, "I was able to look at some images and historical drawings that we had to see how they were done before and decide how we wanted them to be seen now."

The fact that Eitel worked closely with Kagan during his apprenticeship aids the remaking process. Eitel began living in the brand's furniture studio in Nantucket after finishing school in 2013, and the two began working together in 2013. He travelled with Kagan on a frequent basis and even had an office with him. "We gained a lot of knowledge." "We learned how to collaborate and how to communicate his idea," he explains. "Doing all of that kind of prepared me for doing what we're doing today and knowing, 'Okay, this is how it's supposed to look, this is the vision he's trying to portray, this is how you reinterpret his sketch,'" she says.

Eitel hopes that these new Holly Hunt reissues will show a new side of Kagan to a younger generation of interior designers, many of whom are likely aware with his work or have clients who seek it on a regular basis. It's all gravy for those who already know, love, and collect him.

I am William Thomas. I write about furniture.