< nr. 79 >

WINK Chair

Year: 1980

A classic from Japanese designer Toshiyuki Kita. In 1979, Kita settled in Milan for definite, because he wanted to focus more on the western world. In the meantime, he kept his design studio in Osaka open. A year later the WINK provided his international breakthrough. Critics view this chair as a sublime synthesis between the organic, multifunctional approach from the east and the technical innovation and pop art from the west.

The WINK is constructed ingeniously. With a few simple actions, the chair can be unfolded completely. The WINK is also one of those designs that depict the radical break between the 1980s and the past: Not ‘boring’ designs, but fun becomes the motto. The WINK was introduced during the Salone del Mobile in Milan in 1981 and was an instant success.

Toshiyuki Kita spent four years working on the design of the chair. Since then, the WINK is part of the permanent collection of, among others, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.