Hortensia: 30,000 petals for an armchair

Andrés Reisinger and Júlia Esqué create a chair like an enormous bouquet for Moooi

To sit on 30,000 delicate, very soft petals. This is the Hortensia model by the Argentine designer Andrés Reisinger for Moooi. The focal point is not just the floral cascade, but also the genesis of the piece: it began as a 3D rendering, which soon went viral on Instagram. The sudden success captured the attention of the market, as orders rolled in before the product had even been made.

Contacted by Moooi, the designer was able to translate a digital drawing into reality, in collaboration with the Catalan designer Júlia Esqué for the covering, creating an armchair formed by 30,000 laser-cut pieces in Petal fabric, available in pink or gray. Moooi also offers an online configurator at its website, where anyone can personalize the product, selected from a vast range of fabrics.

Hortensia by Moooi, Design Andrés Reisinger & Júlia Esqué - Photo © Mattia Greghi

Andrés Reisinger has wagered on digital territories for some time now: at the start of the year, in just ten minutes he sold ten pieces of furniture in an online auction, which existed only on a virtual plane, for a total of 450,000 dollars. “I really wanted to make this project with Moooi,” Reisinger says. “I knew that with their collection between art and design, there could be no better place for the Hortensia model.”

This is the opening of a new era, in which digital and virtual furnishings, social platforms and industry are inseparably intertwined.