Vintage Space Age Alpaca Velvet Lounge Chair by Gianfranco Frattini for Cassina, 1972

The Sesann lounge was designed by Gianfranco Frattini in 1970 and produced by the Italian manufacturer Cassina. The chromed tubular cage is in perfect condition too without rust or oxide. Sesann is characterised by an organic and informal shape and is defined by the tubular metal detail that wraps around the soft, upholstered seat. In the 1970s the Cassina catalogue contained inside two space age chromed living room solution: "Soriana" series by Afra & Tobia Scarpa and "Sesann" series (composed of a two seater sofa, a three seater sofa, a lounge chair and a coffee table). Gianfranco Frattini (May 15, 1926 – April 6, 2004) was an Italian architect and designer. He is a member of the generation that created the Italian design movement in the late 1950s through the 1960s. Gianfranco Frattini was born in Padua, Italy on May 15, 1926. He graduated with a degree in architecture from the Politecnico di Milano in 1953. Frattini opened his own professional practice in Milan, after having worked in the office of his teacher and mentor Giò Ponti. Frattini became an industrial designer by default when he lacked appropriate lighting and furniture for his interiors. His collaboration with Cesare Cassina for his namesake company started in 1954, followed by collaborations with many other manufacturers, such as Bernini, Arteluce, Acerbis, Fantoni, Artemide (for whom among others pieces with Livio Castiglioni he designed the historic Boalum lamp), Luci, Knoll, Lema and many others. In 1956 he co-founded Associazione per il Disegno Industriale and throughout his career he practiced both industrial design and architecture, focusing mostly on interiors. He was a board member of the Triennale. Great connoisseur of wood craftsmanship, he forged a long and fruitful professional partnership with the master craftsman from Bovisio Masciago (Milan), Pierluigi Ghianda. Glassware designed by Gianfranco Frattini for Progetti is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and the Boalum lamp (with Livio Castiglioni) produced by Artemide is in the collection of the Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Literature: Giuliana Gramigna, Federica Monetti. Gianfranco Frattini: architetto d’interni e designer. 2007-01-01, FrancoAngeli.