Mungo Armchair is a minimalist armchair created by Paris-based studio Formel. The Mungo collection emerged from a deceptively simple premise: marry visual appeal with structural integrity through one commanding element. The designers sought to create what they called a “solid yet light base,” a paradox that has challenged furniture makers since the earliest Windsor chairs attempted to balance strength with grace. Yet where traditional seating relied on wood’s natural properties to achieve this balance, Mungo ventured into the realm of high-performance textiles.

The choice of outdoor fabric speaks to a broader trend in contemporary design, where boundaries between interior and exterior applications continue to blur. This cross-pollination recalls the pioneering work of Charles and Ray Eames, who regularly adapted industrial materials for domestic use, or more recently, the outdoor furniture innovations that have migrated indoors as urban living spaces increasingly merge with terraces and balconies. The technical fabric becomes both membrane and metaphor, suggesting durability while maintaining the tactile comfort essential to intimate seating.

“We had thought of it as an eye-catching armchair for conversation, putting form before function,” they explain. This candid assessment reveals a design philosophy in evolution, one that has shifted from spectacle toward utility. The armchair exists now as a singular artifact, a prototype that captured a moment of creative exploration before the studio’s values crystallized around “highly functional pieces.”