The L.Ercolani Modern Tones Collection

The iconic Butterfly Chair, modernized with fresh colors in a limited-edition collection.

Founded in 1920 by Lucian Ercolani, ercol is a century-old, London-based furniture brand that has produced many iconic products. Among them, the Butterfly Chair. Based on designs created by Lucian Ercolani in the 1950s, the chair made its debut in 1958; soon after, it became one of the most easily recognizable chairs of the mid-century modern era. Fast forward to 2021, and the design is as popular as ever. Created in a collaboration between L.Ercolani, a division of ercol, and visionary Art Director Christian Møller Andersen, the Modern Tones collection brings the original chair to life in a range of fresh colors. The modernized versions complement the iconic butterfly-inspired silhouette with new color palettes that also enhance the natural wood grain.

“The new tones marry the brand’s historic past with L.Ercolani’s forward-thinking approach through an intense use of color. I wanted to use Lucian’s mid-century designs as a foundation and build upon this idea of tactile warmth with richer tones, atypical of the time the pieces were originally designed,” says Christian Møller Andersen. The collection intentionally breaks away from tradition with a range of curated colors that are both warm and rich. The palette includes three new tones of Ocher, Warm Gray, and Original, as well as the previously introduced hues of Vintage Red and Off White.

Bold yet transparent enough to highlight the wood grain, the colors give a contemporary feel to the iconic chair. Launched on May 20, 2021, the Modern Tones collection will include the limited-edition series of the Butterfly Chair as well as new finishes for designs from the ercol Originals range and contemporary furniture from L.Ercolani by ercol. You can find the collection at selected retailers and at the company’s showroom partners in the US. Photographs© L.Ercolani.