Peacock chair to be re-imagined at Manila FAME

SAN FRANCISCO — Like a party of peacocks, nine emblematic chairs are poised to enthrall global buyers this Oct. 20-22 at the World Trade Center in Manila FAME, the country’s premier design and lifestyle event.

In collaboration with top Philippine small to medium enterprises, nine young and notable designers will recast the Peacock Chair (also called Philippine Chair) in uniquely modern versions, founded on the original design that captivated the world since its debut in the early 1900s.

Collaborating in this special showcase titled, “ICON: Peacock Chair Redux,” are Leo Sano for Locsin International; Mark Gerby Rivera for Country Accents, Inc.; Jim Torres for Industria Home Vico Design and Mfg. Corp.; Tony Gonzales representing his own brand, A Greeting Card Co.; Budji Layug for Kenneth Cobonpue; Jinggoy Buensuceso for Prizmic and Brill et Compagnie, Inc.; Val Padilla for Luzon Rattan Industries; Leeroy New for MCCA Industrial Corporation;  and Tes Pasola for Prado Filipino Artisans, Inc.

In a simple and organic design using steel frames and arorog weaves, internationally trained designer Leo Sano, in tandem with Locsin International, aim for the light, airy and fluffed-up look, resembling the peacock’s feathers in its wide-open magnificent spread.

Country Accents, Inc., which collaborates with designer Mark Gerby Rivera, explores the essence of a peacock’s beauty and references on royalty. Using eyespots in resplendent hues of blue and yellow as highlights of a “birdcage-like” form, their design succeeds in combining the flexibility of rattan and firmness of steel and acorn wood.

Industria Home Vico Design & Mfg. Corp. taps Jim Torres, a young Filipino designer for its Peacock chair entry in Manila FAME. Torres chooses metal to demonstrate the design values of the original Peacock Chair, including its intricate details, dramatic upper tail called coverts, and distinct hourglass base.

Designer and artist Tony Gonzales, who authored out of the box and globally acclaimed creations such as the Genie and the Melon chairs, is designing the peacock chair for A Greeting Card Company, a firm which Gonzales also heads. The company, which has been creating products out of handmade papers, is expected to produce a standout metal piece worthy of another global design award.

Kenneth Cobonpue, the self-titled company whose exceptional creativity and ingenuity has been recognized in various countries, including London, Italy and Germany and by renowned Hollywood celebrities, partners with designer Budji Layug to create its version of the iconic chair. With these two design bigwigs coming together to create a piece, nothing less than superlative is certain.

Prizmic and Brill et Compagnie, Inc., a company known for its signature style of juxtaposing the raw and traditional with choice modern materials such as select hardwood, hand tipped hides, brass, rattan, steel, glass and textile, very well complements the skills of visual artist and sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso. Buensuceso, who made the 2,000-scale monumental modern dragon sculpture that wraps around the Green Sun Building in Makati City, is expected to produce a modern statement this October.

Luzon Rattan Industries picks veteran designer Val Padilla for its chair entry in Manila FAME, a challenging feat for the company that has been manufacturing and exporting original Peacock Chairs as well as other rattan furniture since the 1940s.  Padilla, however, gamely accepts the opportunity to contemporize the once globally acclaimed design without losing its essential Filipino roots and taking advantage of the company’s deep weaving expertise.

Leeroy New, one of Lady Gaga’s costume designers in her music video, “Marry The Night,” designs for MCCA Industrial Corporation, an internationally renowned wrought-iron and glass-blowing company that produces indoor and outdoor furniture and decorative accessories. New, who has partnered with MCCA in the past, presents a stunning design of the peacock chair in all its bluish iridescence, achieving it through glass and metal.

The peacock chair has been described as “the fan chair, with its flared back and intricately woven details and throne-like, (its) head-framing seat reserved for royals.” More interestingly, the peacock chair carries its personal cachet, as narrated in “The Development and Effects of the Twentieth-Century Wicker Revival” by Emily A. Morris in her thesis for the Smithsonian Associates and Corcoran College of Art and Design in 2012. She stated that while few sources can track the accurate origins of the peacock chair, which she tagged “Manila” or “Philippine,” the American critics wove fantastical tales that involved Southeast Asian royalty and lush surroundings.

Come October Manila FAME, worldwide buyers will be treated to this one-of-a-kind metamorphosis and evolution at its ICON: PEACOCK CHAIR REDUX showcase.

Manila FAME, the country’s premier design and lifestyle event, is organized by CITEM, the export promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). For more information, log on to www.manilafame.com.