The It Couch Is Having Its Heyday, and The Camaleonda Couch by B&B Italia is First in Its Class
We’ve all heard the saying “your home is your sanctuary,” and never has that been truer than during 2020. But for a select few, the recognized Xions and doyennes of the interior design world, their individual spaces speak to their own distinctly recognizable senses of taste and style. Thus, the favored spaces these designers touch are elevated to an art form, which those of us who are aesthetically inclined, can always look to for inspiration. In the past year, interior design and furniture retail markets have seen dramatic spikes in interest. If you’ve spent time scrolling your feed while experiencing anything from property envy to an urge to invest in a lust-worthy B&B Italia sofa, calling to you from its perfectly filtered Instagram photo, you’re not alone. Lifestyle journalist Kerry Pieri hits the nail on the head in her recently published feature in Harper’s Bazaar: “It should come as no surprise that interiors have taken the stylish lead in a year spent at home—where the sofa has become the coffee spot, work desk, and Netflix perch all in one leather- or fabric-covered mass”, observing that “The largest—quite literally—marker of style now isn't so much about what you wear, but rather what you're sitting on”.
Just as the purpose-driven mantra of every Fashionista was once “Secure the Bag,” so during 2020’s lockdowns and quarantine, the style-conscious have redirected their design interests inward, literally – to their interiors. And just like that, a timeless status symbol is enjoying a renaissance: The It Sofa. I’ll admit, I’ve been lured into many online shopping carts, or tempted to source a designer piece, after viewing it on any number of stylish influencers’ feeds. Lately, the it couch is having a moment.
The fact that one can soundly invest in a timeless piece and see its value and demand appreciate over time has been proven repeatedly, via popularity of sites such as Chairish and 1stdibs - much like fashion resellers have demonstrated the enduring resale value of Chanel pieces. High-end retailers like DIVA Furniture in Los Angeles, offer new designer pieces, including reissues of popular past designs by the manufacturers, whose pedigrees offer buyers similar longterm appeal.
If these sites have been receiving heightened traffic from interior design lovers, then what, we must ask, is the premier status symbol du jour? According to Pieri, “The Mario Bellini Camaleonda for B&B Italia is the clear Birkin of this race—if we were to make casual fashion references. It's the ultimate status symbol, so popular in the resale market that B&B Italia reissued it last year, after originally producing it for only a few years in the 1970s. A classic with pedigree, favored by ladies known for their innate style including Pernille Teisbaek, Aimee Song, Eva Chen (who's Connecticut home is currently being designed by Heide Hendricks), and, of course, Calderone, who owns two”.
Designed by the renowned Mario Bellini, “In its reissue, [the] Camaleonda [couch] preserves the elements that have made it a contemporary classic,” per B&B Italia. “Still manufactured with the innovative system of cables, hooks and rings created by Bellini in 1970,” the piece is a heavenly conception of contemporary style and boldly cushioned tufting, unlimited in its modularity. For anyone who entertains often, imagine the freedom of having infinite furniture configurations in one piece. “By hooking and unhooking seats, backrests and
armrests,” Mario Bellini says, “you can enjoy the luxury of changing your mind as many times as you
desire, moving and redesigning the space”. A concept which is dear to Mario Bellini: “Of all the objects I have designed, Camaleonda is perhaps the best in terms of its sense of freedom”.