Presented to the public in 1970, Camaleonda has passed through 5 decades of design history as a true icon. Designed by Mario Bellini, this modular sofa has defined the aesthetics of an entire era of interior design, thanks to its great success both in terms of the public and critics. It is constantly featured in most international design museums and in the film-sets that have defined the collective imagination. An object that is loved by design aficionados, antique dealers and interior decorators alike is finally back in production after a careful design process that involved the close collaboration between the B&B Italia’s Research & Development Centre and Mario Bellini.
In its reissue, Camaleonda preserves the elements that have made it a contemporary classic. By mutual agreement, Mario Bellini and B&B Italia have decided to keep the cm 90x90 seat module, together with the backrest and the armrest, faithful to the original project, whose original cutting pattern was used for the new edition.
The generous polyurethane padding that forms the characteristic capitonné design remains unchanged, still manufactured with the innovative system of cables, hooks and rings created by Bellini in 1970, which defines the characteristic look and modularity. Thanks to the tie-rods and the rings, in fact, the modules can be unhooked and recombined at will, allowing the sofa to adapt to an evolving taste and the dynamic needs of those using it.
The fundamental characteristic of Camaleonda is its unlimited modularity, a geometric pattern that allows each element to become a sort of enormous pixel through which to define your home environment. By hooking and unhooking seats, backrests and armrests, you can enjoy the luxury of changing your mind as many times as you desire, moving and redesigning the space.
A concept which is dear to Mario Bellini: “Of all the objects I have designed, Camaleonda is perhaps the best in terms of its sense of freedom. There are infinite number of possible configurations.” The padding has been thoroughly updated by the B&B Italia's Research & Development Centre, making it even more comfortable than the original version. Thus the magical balance between the rigorous geometry of the square and the welcoming roundness of the padding is confirmed, further underlining the elasticity and tactile ergonomics that characterize many of Mario Bellini’s design projects.
Camaleonda can be covered with B&B Italia’s entire textile and leather collection, allowing for another variable in the multitude of possible combinations. Camaleonda is a dynamic, alive and sincere object, not at all enigmatic, that allows for an infinite number of configurations while still maintaining its peculiar and unique identity.
Design Mario Bellini
Mario Bellini is an architect and designer internationally renowned. He received the Golden Compass Award eight times and 25 of his works are in the permanent design collection of the New York MoMA, which dedicated to him a personal retrospective in 1987.
