Designed in late 1953, the DU 30 armchair is certainly Gastone Rinaldi’s most famous piece. In fact, it was awarded the Compasso d’Oro, then known as the Compasso d’Oro-Rinascente, in 1954, the first year the prize was presented.
The jury included the likes of Gio Ponti, Marco Zanuso and Alberto Rosselli. The DU 30 armchair was immediately patented and appeared on the front cover of the first edition of Stile Industria magazine in June 1954. The unitary nature of the seat and backrest results in a central cutting and stitching effect that brings to mind the contemporary works of Lucio Fontana.
The DU 30 armchair has a shaped single shell in steel mesh with moulded polyurethane foam padding. Legs in bent and welded iron tubing with a textured, wrinkled black finish (BLACK RAL 9005). Equipped with a lower ‘backbone’, the shell is directly screwed to each pair of legs. The padding is in moulded polyurethane foam and the upholstery is in Pelle Frau® leather, distinctive for its central stitching which begins at the bottom of the backrest, where gentle folds are formed, and continues right along the seat. The front is embellished with hand stitching.