September 10, 2026
Eileen Gray’s Bibendum Chair Turns 100
Mainstream success largely eluded Irish iconoclast Eileen Gray until she was a nonagenarian, but today her design legacy is uncontested. Central to Gray’s work is her 1926 Bibendum chair, named after the formal moniker of the Michelin tire company mascot, better known as the Michelin Man. The armchair was developed for the Paris salon of socialite Madame Juliette Mathieu-Lévy and later appeared in Gray’s own modernist masterpiece, the E-1027 villa on the Riviera. Its stacked cylindrical backrest resembles its namesake’s chubby tire-bodied trunk, as filtered through a domestic lens. Paying tribute to the icon’s centennial, German manufacturer ClassiCon has released 100 pieces with nickel-plated tubular-steel frame outfitted in sand-colored nubuck. This centenary edition, Bibendum 100, is based on one of Gray’s earliest models, and each is individually numbered and engraved with her signature. classicon.com
OBJECTS of design 100 years: Classicon
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Bibendum 100. Photography Courtesy of Classicon. -
Eileen Gray. Photography by National Museum of Ireland. -
Photography by Francois Halard. -
Photography by National Museum of Ireland. -
Photography by Michelin. -
Photography Courtesy of Classicon.
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