"La mamma" vintage armchair and footrest in foam by Gaetano Pesce for B.b Italia, 2000s

At the beginning of the 1960s, the chemist Bayer developed a polyurethane foam based on a new resin, which made it possible to create various shapes in a simple manner. In the middle of the decade, the Italian design publisher C&B seized on and invested in the possibilities offered by this development. The company proposed to Gaetano Pesce, who was interested in new technologies and the potential they offered interested in new technologies and the potential they offer, to experiment with this material: he developed the "Serie UP". With this object, the designer symbolically expresses his vision of women. With the round pouf, the second element of the chair, the designer specifies that he wanted to give this chair a feminine shape with a ball and chain. He wanted to use this metaphor to denounce the female condition. When it was presented at the Milan Furniture Fair in 1969, the object caused a scandal. The first edition of the Mamma had no supporting structure and was made up of a single block, simplifying the transport of the seat. Its volume was reduced by compressing it under vacuum in an airtight package. Once placed in the desired location, the purchaser would remove the packaging from the seat, allowing it to gently inflate and return to its original shape and size, thanks to the air that penetrates the cells of the polyurethane foam. Originally produced by C&B, it was withdrawn from the catalogue in 1973 due to the presence of Freon gas. It reappeared in 2000, manufactured in Bayfit and marketed by B&B Italia, the Mamma is still marketed today. Reupholstered armchair, polyurethane foam interior made up of two monobloc parts. Reference : 246995