Robin and Lucienne Day

Book excerpt: Hailed as the British counterparts to Charles and Ray Eames, Robin and Lucienne Day electrified the British design scene in the 1950s with their startling furniture and textile designs. Indeed, their influence over the next five decades has been so profound that their early products were recently reintroduced by Conran's Habitat. Lucienne Day pioneered the introduction of modern abstract pattern design in the textile industry. Her fabrics, which oscillate between bold geometric figures and more subtle abstract patterns, were produced by companies as diverse as Heal's and Liberty of London. Robin Day's influential furniture designs pioneered the use of materials such as plywood, steel, and plastic. His stacking polypropylene chair (right) is one of the best-selling chairs in the world. Robin and Lucienne Day, the first-ever full-length monograph on their designs, features never-before-seen archival material along with over 250 color images of the full range of their work, including furniture, ceramics, textiles, wallpaper, interiors, appliances, exhibit designs, and graphics. Spanning a half-century's creative output, no designer will fail to be awed by the genius seen in this book.