Aram celebrates 100 years of Eileen Gray’s ‘Bibendum’ chair with a new limited-edition release

The ‘Bibendum’ chair’s voluptuous silhouette, which, according to Gray, resembled the Michelin Man, made it a standout in 1926 – and it’s still turning heads

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bibendum chair by eileen gray - centenary edition
Aram’s ‘Bibendum’ chair 100 years limited edition, £6,750
(Image credit: Ollie Tomlinson)

It has been 100 years since Eileen Gray – the Irish designer and architect widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of 20th-century modern design – introduced her ‘Bibendum’ chair. With its bold, sculptural form, the chair challenged conventional ideas of what modern furniture could be, and remains one of Gray’s most recognisable and celebrated works.

Aram, which has held the worldwide licence for Gray designs since 1973 and worked closely with the designer during her lifetime, is marking the centenary with the launch of a limited collector’s edition. Released exactly a century after the chair was first conceived in 1926, the edition is restricted to just 100 pieces.

bibendum chair by eileen gray - centenary edition

(Image credit: Ollie Tomlinson)

bibendum chair by eileen gray - centenary edition

(Image credit: Ollie Tomlinson)

The ‘Bibendum’ chair occupies a rare position between functional furniture, sculptural form and cultural artefact. It is celebrated for its bold and unconventional construction: a backrest formed from a stack of padded cylindrical cushions, paired with a generously proportioned seat and supported by a tubular steel frame. The chair takes its name from the original Michelin Man, Bibendum – a reference that highlights Gray’s signature wit.

Throughout the late 1920s and 1930s, Gray incorporated the ‘Bibendum’ chair into a number of her most significant interior projects, including a 1933 commission for fashion entrepreneur Juliette Lévy. Early examples were upholstered in fabric or skai, a leather-like vinyl, and were shown at Gray’s Jean Desert gallery in Paris.

bibendum chair by eileen gray - centenary edition

(Image credit: Ollie Tomlinson)

These original versions are now exceptionally rare, with only two believed to remain in private ownership. Today, the ‘Bibendum’ chair is most often encountered in museum collections. However, Aram’s long-standing relationship with Gray has enabled it to preserve the authenticity of her work while presenting it to new generations – the centenary edition reflects this approach.

Produced in collaboration with ClassiCon, the sublicensee for Gray designs outside the UK, the centenary edition is upholstered in Sørensen Duet nubuck gold leather, selected for its softness and evolving patina, and finished with a nickel-plated base that recalls the tone and sheen of early models. Each piece is individually stamped with its edition number, reinforcing its exclusivity and provenance.

A century after its creation, the ‘Bibendum’ chair remains as compelling as ever. The centenary edition not only honours Gray’s legacy, but also reaffirms the chair’s place as a landmark of modern design, destined to be treasured by future generations.

Anna Solomon
Digital Writer

Anna Solomon is Wallpaper’s digital staff writer, working across all of Wallpaper.com’s core pillars. She has a special interest in interiors and curates the weekly spotlight series, The Inside Story. Before joining the team at the start of 2025, she was senior editor at Luxury London Magazine and Luxurylondon.co.uk, where she covered all things lifestyle and interviewed tastemakers such as Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Priya Ahluwalia, Zandra Rhodes, and Ellen von Unwerth.