Michel Ducaroy

Designed By Michel Ducaroy

Born in Lyon on 4th November 1925, French designer Michel Ducaroy was raised in a family of designers and makers of contemporary furniture who were commissioned by the Chaleyssin factory which most notably supplied furniture for the liner SS Normandie.
Michel Ducaroy cut his teeth in the family business before studying in the faculty of sculpture at the École Supérieure Nationale des Beaux Arts de Lyon. His 1960 meeting with Jean Roset the head of a family business developing ranges of furniture for civil hospitals in Lyon, bedroom furniture for halls of residence and furniture for other civil buildings was pivotal. During his time here Michel Ducaroy designed a range of furniture for young people (chambre DN) along with numerous chairs, settees and pieces of furniture for public facilities (chauffeuse 459, etc). The years following 1968, coupled with the creative explosion of the 1970s, caused Jean Roset to refocus his company’s activities on the domestic market. It was in 1973 that the designer created his most famous and iconic creation: the legendary Togo sofa. In Michel Ducaroy‘s own words, the Togo cushion seat was directly inspired by “a toothpaste tube folded over itself like a stovepipe and closed at both ends”.