19 Feb THE DJINN CHAIR
THE SHORT HISTORY OF AN OBJECT
THE DJINN
CHAIR
Attention, I do not want to talk about an armchair that would be covered in jeans, that sturdy cotton fabric patented by the Americans, no, no!
But about an armchair with the mysterious name of DJII. With two i’s! What is that?
Well, its creator, a French designer who, at the very end of the 1950s, studied at the famous Boulle school and the equally famous Arts Décoratifs in Paris, imagined in 1964—a good sixty years ago—an armchair with a typical 60s signature.
Meaning? Where everything is humor and irony, carefreeness and lightness, creativity and cheerfulness, mobility and highly colorful!
Today, Olivier Mourgue recounts that he was drawing while singing Beatles songs… But where does this name Djiin come from then?
Well, the name of this armchair, upholstered with foam and dressed in a removable cover, undoubtedly refers to the genies of Muslim tradition. Who knows why?
Because Djinns are so flexible that they have the power to change shape?
Because they have, it is said, the power to move quickly… this, for the armchair, is absolutely true because weighing about ten kilos, you can move it easily.
It is also said that Djinns have the ability to fly and make themselves invisible… Well, as you can guess, this is not at all the case for Olivier Mourgue’s armchair. As for the color aspect, the designer’s armchair is inspired by the Djinn of Muslim authors – they come in all colors.
And it pops! Orange, bright yellow and fifteen other very pop art colors.
Colors right on target for the era!
A bit eccentric and shapes with a touch of the extraterrestrial, all the same!
Le fauteuil Djinn du designer Olivier Mourgue dans la station spatiale du film de Stanley Kubrick de 1968 « 2001: A space Odyssey » – « 2001, l’Odyssée de l’espace ». Image du Los Angeles County Museum of Art du 6 juin 2O13 de Matthew J. Cotter
Moreover, it was indeed its futuristic aspect that appealed to the famous American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, who placed an order with the French designer for the set of the spaceship in his now-cult film, 2001: A Space Odyssey!
Here was a designer who was truly of his time.
Olivier Mourgue indeed also designed the cover of the second catalog of the Prisunic store in 1969, which was already launching, just as our YouTube channel Le Dessous des Objets does today, a sort of manifesto for the promotion of design for all… This manifesto had the slogan: beauty at the price of ugly!
Quite a program!
A cheeky ad campaign
It is unknown if the Djinn armchair was very successful… But that same year, an advertising campaign boosted the brand’s turnover, a campaign that was rejected by most magazines, except Paris-Match. On a poster, you could see 50 pairs of buttocks. A way of saying, “Go ahead, it looks fragile and light, but sit down without fear, it’s solid!”
Today, unless you find a copy at an antique dealer’s, you won’t be able to verify it because the Airborne company no longer manufactures the Djinn armchair!
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