There are objects that move through time without ever losing their voice. The re-edition of the R 513 armchair by Vico Magistretti, presented at the Salone del Mobile 2026, brings back into production a project originally conceived in the 1980s through the collaboration between the Milanese designer and Gervasoni, initially created to celebrate the company’s centenary. An essential presence, capable of encapsulating some of the deepest themes of its history: the relationship with the Friulian territory, the culture of weaving craftsmanship, and a design research that continues to evolve without ever breaking its connection with its origins.
The R 513 belongs to that tradition of Italian design in which simplicity and constructive precision converge. In Vico Magistretti’s armchair, rattan is not used as a covering or decorative detail, but becomes the very structure of the project, allowing the construction itself to naturally define the form.
In Friuli, wicker weaving long represented a widespread practice tied to the agricultural world and to the production of woven objects intended for everyday life. It is within this context that, in 1882, the Premiata Società Friulana per l’Industria del Vimini was founded, the original nucleus of Gervasoni: a small artisanal enterprise established to promote the craftsmanship and commercialization of a resource deeply rooted in the local territory.
Over the course of the twentieth century, Gervasoni gradually evolved its identity, transforming from a local manufacturing company into an international contemporary furniture brand. Yet its relationship with materials such as wicker, reed, and rattan has remained constant, continuing to represent an essential component of the company’s design research. Through collaborations with designers capable of reinterpreting their language in a contemporary way, these materials are understood not as expressions of tradition alone, but as living tools of the design process.
It is within this context that the collaboration with Vico Magistretti took shape, one of the most influential figures in postwar Italian design. The projects developed together emerged from an essential vision of living, in which memory, function, and construction find a natural balance. Memory never turns into nostalgia; instead, it becomes part of a language capable of remaining relevant over time.
The R 513 is now being reissued thanks to collaboration with the Fondazione Vico Magistretti. Crafted from Manau rattan, the armchair is defined by a dense sequence of vertical elements that shape both the backrest and the structure through a single continuous gesture. The material follows the design without constraining it, allowing the form to emerge directly from the construction process: a balance that faithfully reflects the original design vision.
