New book reveals Cassina furniture as seen through Karl Lagerfeld’s eyes

A new publication, Cassina as seen by Karl, collates photographs of Italian designer furniture brand Cassina’s products, shot by Karl Lagerfeld. The collaboration between the two prolific names first started in 2013 when Lagerfeld transformed Cassina’s Paris showroom into an art gallery, exhibiting his series of “gigantic portraits” of the brand’s furniture. It is these photographs that have been collected and compiled into the new leather-bound book, which was supported and printed by the renowned publisher Gerhard Steidl. The new photobook documents and honours the Italian design brand’s 90-year history.

The images reinvent and reorganise the iconic household pieces, as Lagerfeld turns chairs into abstract sculptural objects and creates unusual, monochrome compositions out of sofas. Cassina as seen by Karl is a reflection of the fashion designer’s extraordinary vision and his unparalleled, innovative mind.

On his role within the publication, Karl Lagerfeld says: “I had never ‘worked’ on this kind of project. To visually reinterpret examples of perfect design is completely new for me, and therefore stimulating, exciting even. I am also a fan of the Cassina ‘productions’ and for years I own many of the photographed pieces, often more than one. My first ‘order’ was the famous chaise-longue by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand in the 60’s."