Menagerie of animal-shaped beanbags lines Bottega Veneta catwalk

Leather beanbags in the form of various animals, from chickens to ladybirds, provided seats for the attendees of Bottega Veneta's childhood-themed spring 2025 show at Milan Fashion Week.

The collection of lounge chairs, named The Ark after the biblical story of Noah's Ark, was designed by Bottega Veneta creative director Matthieu Blazy to instil a sense of playfulness in the show by integrating furniture that would feel at home in a child's bedroom.

Featured in the menagerie of creature-informed chairs are 15 different species of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects including whales, dogs, pandas, rabbits, foxes, otters, elephants, cats, bears, horses, chickens, snakes, dinosaurs and ladybirds.

The seats deviate from the conventional rigid chairs and benches used to accommodate guests at fashion shows and nod to the show's childhood theme.

The beanbags facilitate a lower seated height when watching the show, encouraging a range of non-upright postures, from a reclined to a bent-kneed seat.

"They sit low to the ground, so you have a different perspective when you sit on them," Blazy said. "They are both joyful and comfortable."

When designing the seats, Blazy looked to the upright yet laid-back silhouette of Zanotta's Sacco chair, created by Italian modernists Cesare Paolini, Franco Teodoro and Piero Gatti in 1968.

Rather than block colours and rounded shapes, however, these new iterations feature backrests designed to resemble different animal anatomy from whale tails to cat heads and pairs of rabbit ears.

The designs were rendered in a selection of lifelike colourways as well as some more fantastical combinations, including blue horses and pink elephants alongside red foxes and brown bears.

"It was the idea of The Ark: a joyful world with a sense of wonder, populated by friendly companions that make you smile and say 'wow'," said Blazy. "I hope this sense of wonder continues every time people come across them, whether at home or elsewhere."

The external shell of each piece is crafted entirely from leather, from the large panels that make up the body to the smaller details such as eyes, ears and noses.

Limited batches of the chairs will be released for purchase on Bottega Veneta's website. Honouring The Ark's name, two of each type of creature will be available. The white chicken and light grey rabbit will also be for sale during Design Miami in December.

This isn't the first time Bottega Veneta has experimented with how guests at its fashion shows are seated. Previous years have seen its fashion show lined with custom cotton-and-resin schools by Italian designer Gaetano Pesce and a special hand-burnt edition of Le Corbusier's LC14 Cabanon stool.

Imagery is courtesy of Bottega Veneta.

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