On the occasion of the anniversary, Ceccotti presents a new edition of Roberto Lazzeroni's icon, with a covering inspired by a princely story

The Star Trek armchair by Ceccotti Collezioni turns 30, a 1994 project by Roberto Lazzeroni – the company's first art director since its birth in 1988.

DISCOVER THE 2024 DESIGN ANNIVERSARIES

The iconic seat with a curvilinear, sinuous and welcoming structure, made of solid plywood (in good years it was first in cherry and then in walnut) has been revisited in a new edition, presented on the occasion of the anniversary at the Milan Design Week.

“This is a historic piece for us,” explains Franco Ceccotti, Founder & Creative Director of the brand that has entered the orbit of the Lifestyle Design group for 5 years. “It was part of the Different Sign collection, the first created together with an expanded designer portfolio. Six years after the foundation, in fact, Roberto Lazzeroni as art director had decided that the time had come to open up to other creative minds, which we did with Chrisophe Pillet, who had just left Philippe Starck's studio, and with André Dubreuil, the great iron poet who designed the Spine Chair for us".

The new edition therefore draws attention to the very essence of the company, recognized for its highly original signature pieces characterized by complex artisanal and industrial manufacturing: to the point that each one becomes a story in its own right .

“We haven't changed anything regarding the design,” explains Niccolò Ceccotti, Product Manager, “because it was an avant-garde object in shape then and remains absolutely contemporary today. Instead, we worked on the finish and - consequently - replaced the wood, moving from walnut to Danish beech".

The Star Trek 94/24, in fact, has a body made of wood that appears bright, of a turquoise colour, with exposed grain and with the padded part - seat and backrest – in white fabric with details that recall the shade of the structure.

As it was easy to guess, there is a story behind these aesthetic choices.

“It is said that Napoleone Bonapare's sister, Elisa Bonaparte, Princess of Lucca and Piombino, asked her court artisans to create furnishings that took up the aesthetics of a chest of drawers she had received as a gift ”, continues Ceccotti. “It's a shame that this one was covered in lapis lazuli and malachite, materials that no one in Tuscany had available. To please the Princess, carpenters began experimenting with aniline to obtain blue wood. And in the end they achieved the desired result."

For Star Trek 94/24 Ceccotti resumed the same line of research.

“Instead of aniline we used a natural pigment in the form of oil which, when deposited on the wood, brings out the stratification. Then, to create a brilliant effect, we covered the structure with multiple layers of shellac which keeps the color alive".

For the upholstery of the padded parts, continues Niccolò Ceccotti, "we chose a jacquard fabric from Dedar, which has a ribbon in the weave with a thread that recalls the color of the body" .

Star Trek 94/24 is part of the 2024 novelties from Ceccotti Collezioni, which also include other pieces by Lazzeroni (a table and a bench from the Duo Collection, two new seats from the ICO collection, re-edited lamps from the 90s), projects by Giuseppe Casarosa (the Fillungo sofa, the Sopwith table and desk, the Galimede side-tables) and by DRAW Studio (the Eileen lounge armchair and the Jean coffee table, the family of Wonderbox containers, the IC Collec]on desk accessories collection and the Lisa chair without armrests).