Djinn Lounge Chair, Olivier Mourgue for Airborne, 1960s

Djinn lounge chair designed by Olivier Mourgue for Airborne, original 1960s edition. Fully restored, it received new foam upholstery and a Kvadrat Planum fabric covering, restoring the comfort and purity of the design imagined by its creator.

• L 172 CM x D 56 CM x H 62 CM.
• Seat height 28 CM.
• Two lounge chairs are available, unit price.

A lounge chair designed to embrace the body

The Djinn lounge chair does not seek to impose a posture: it naturally follows the body. Its low seat, continuous curves and concealed tubular structure give the impression that the chair is molded from a single volume. This visual lightness is one of the great strengths of Olivier Mourgue‘s work.

At a time when many armchairs still retained massive structures, the Djinn offered a freer approach. Foam became a true construction material, while the stretched fabric revealed the organic lines imagined by the designer. This design makes the Djinn one of the most daring creations in French furniture design.

Two lounge chairs by Olivier Mourgue and Airborne, 1960s, Kvadrat fabric.

Airborne, laboratory of 1960s design

Published by Airborne in the mid-1960s, the Djinn series belongs to a period of exceptional experimentation. The French publisher supported a new generation of designers seeking to create furniture that was more flexible, more comfortable and better suited to modern interiors.

The lounge chair perfectly embodies this spirit. Its low, almost floating profile dialogues with the futuristic aesthetic of its era without ever sacrificing comfort. Airborne thus helped to create furniture where foam, steel tubing and stretch textiles gradually replaced traditional wooden structures. The Djinn series fully belongs to 1960s design, yet maintains a very contemporary presence today in a living room, library or modern reading space.

A restoration that respects the original design

On such a precise model, simply replacing the fabric would make no sense. The entire quality of a Djinn lounge chair rests on the balance of its volumes, the tension of the textile and the continuity of its lines. Each foam piece was therefore completely replaced before applying a new Kvadrat Planum covering.

Fitting the Kvadrat fabric on the Djinn lounge chair.

Finishing touches on the Djinn armchair.

This restoration work restores the silhouette intended by Olivier Mourgue, without weighing it down or distorting it. The choice of Kvadrat fabric meets this requirement: its suppleness follows the curves of the seat, while its durability ensures long-lasting use. The restoration thus restores the comfort, tension of the lines and balance of the original design.

A lounge chair, a vanishing line

The Djinn appears to have been drawn in a single stroke. Its tapered profile, seat close to the floor and absence of visible base create a true vanishing line that visually lightens the armchair. Depending on the angle from which it is viewed, the structure almost entirely disappears in favor of a continuous silhouette, as if suspended above the floor. Few creations possess such an immediately recognizable silhouette. Even isolated in a room, this vintage lounge chair immediately captures attention through the fluidity of its design. It works perfectly alone but also pairs well with a coffee table and a sofa in minimalist architecture as well as in an interior entirely devoted to vintage furniture.

More than sixty years after its creation, the Djinn remains one of Olivier Mourgue’s most accomplished achievements. It embodies a period when French design was inventing new ways of living, favoring comfort, technical innovation and freedom of form.

The two Djinn lounge chairs we offer come from the same first owner, a detail that has become rare for such a sought-after model and which testifies to a remarkable state of preservation.