Meet The Designer
Gian Franco Legler
Gian Franco Legler worked across architecture, interiors and industrial materials. His best-known work, the Basket Chair, was designed in 1951 for a restaurant in Italy and received a Good Design Award from MoMA in 1953. More than 70 years later, the chair remains in production in both indoor and outdoor versions.
Gian Franco Legler: A Chair with an Enduring Legacy
Born in Switzerland, Gian Franco Legler worked across architecture, interior design and industrial materials. In 1951, he designed a stacking chair for the Basket restaurant in Italy, working with local basket weavers to produce its woven seat. Two years later, the design received a Good Design Award from the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The Basket Chair combines a woven shell with a slender steel frame to create comfortable seating that can be stacked when not in use. The original Basket Chair was produced in natural rattan, while later outdoor versions use polyethylene to preserve its woven appearance in a more weather-resistant material.