1972-2022: fifty years with Le Bambole

An important birthday for one of the icons of Seventies design, winner of the Compasso d’Oro in 1979. Today the upholstered furniture family created for B&B Italia by Mario Bellini has evolved. With sustainable materials and new coverings

Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972)
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972)

Le Bambole was born in 1972, a collection of upholstered furnishings invented by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia (C&B, in those days), starting from the form of a large cushion, soft in all its parts.

Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972)
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972)

A revolutionary idea, in line with the transformations of living in the early 1970s, which applied the same image – a metal skeleton with polyurethane padding – to armchairs, beds and sofas. In fact, as Bellini said, “Le Bambole are not covered in fabric, but constructed in fabric.”

Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972) - Photo © Oliviero Toscani
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972) - Photo © Oliviero Toscani
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972) - Photo © Oliviero Toscani
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972) - Photo © Oliviero Toscani
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972) - Photo © Oliviero Toscani
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (1972) - Photo © Oliviero Toscani
previous arrow
next arrow
 

The success of the collection was boosted by an ad campaign created by the young Oliviero Toscani, where Donna Jordan, the model and muse of Andy Warhol, moved nonchalantly in a topless outfit, lending her beauty to the product launch. Then in 1979 came the Compasso d’Oro award, the definitive selection of Le Bambole as an icon of design Made in Italy.

Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (2022)
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (2022)

Fifty years later, Le Bambole is reborn, returning to the ultra-soft forms of its debut. The historic pieces (the Bambola chair, the Bibambola two-seat sofa, the Bamboletto double bed) are joined by the Granbambola three-seat sofa. Comfort is still the key, but the company also pays attention to sustainability, with materials granted a second life and the possibility of disassembly and recycling of all the articles in the new collection.

Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (2022) - Photo © Tommaso Sartori
Le Bambole by B&B Italia, Design Mario Bellini (2022) – Photo © Tommaso Sartori

The coverings have also evolved: along with Sila, a fabric available in eight colors, and the covering in Kasia leather, today customers can select a floral print in the Manila limited edition, an ironic, almost surreal version.

“I once again feel the urge to reinterpret this family,” Bellini says, “because I can confirm the fact that it has not aged: actually, it is going through a flourishing, promising second life, a rebirth carried out with style, enthusiasm, generosity, with decoration and the original puffy shapes.”