Togo Sofa

Michel Ducaroy, Ligne Roset

MICHEL DUCAROY (Lyon, 1925 – 2009) for Ligne Roset. "Togo" sofa, circa 1990. Alcantara fabric. Composed of two three-seater modules and one corner module. Features manufacturer's label. Few pieces of contemporary furniture have achieved the iconic status of Michel Ducaroy's Togo. Created in 1973 for Ligne Roset, this sofa revolutionized the traditional concept of seating by eliminating any visible rigid structure and replacing it with an innovative core of multi-density foams offering exceptional comfort. Its characteristic low silhouette, generous quilted folds that evoke the skin of a Shar Pei dog, and casual appearance resulted in a radically new design, making it one of the most recognizable and admired models of the 20th century. Presented that same year at the Salon des Arts Ménagers in Paris, the Togo was awarded the René Gabriel Prize, a distinction recognizing the 'innovative and democratic furniture', consolidating from its launch a commercial and critical success that remains valid more than five decades later. Its design, conceived as a true 'sofa-mattress', responds to a new way of inhabiting domestic spaces, privileging comfort, flexibility and informality without renouncing a powerful aesthetic identity. Michel Ducaroy, trained at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, joined Ligne Roset in 1954, where he directed the design department for decades. Fascinated by the possibilities offered by new materials emerging in the sixties and seventies, such as polyurethane foam, wadding or thermoformed plastics, he developed an innovative formal language that gave rise to some of the most emblematic pieces of contemporary French design. Among all of them, the Togo series constitutes his masterpiece and one of the greatest successes in the history of Ligne Roset. This set, upholstered in blue Alcantara, preserves intact the structure that has made the Togo an international design reference. Its modular configuration allows multiple compositions, adapting naturally to multiple spaces. More than fifty years after its creation, it continues to be a symbol of timeless design and one of the most coveted pieces of French production of the 20th century.