Cab Chair

Mario Bellini for Cassina — Cab Chair, 1977

The Cab chair occupies a singular place in furniture history: it was the first chair in the world to feature a self-supporting leather structure. Designed by Mario Bellini in 1977 and immediately embraced as a milestone of Italian craft and ingenuity, the Cab is built around a slim tubular steel skeleton — but it is the leather that does the structural work. Sixteen panels of hand-cut, hand-stitched saddle leather are assembled over the frame through twenty-two separate processes, then fastened into place by a zipper that runs up the inside of each leg, like a bespoke tailored garment. The leather is not applied to the chair; it is the chair. As Bellini has said: “This was a new kind of chair, constructed totally out of leather, much cloned since then.”

The Cab was immediately recognised as a breakthrough — its combination of artisanal precision and formal clarity landed it in the permanent design collection of MoMA, New York, where it remains. It is part of Cassina’s i Contemporanei collection, available in an extensive palette of saddle-hide colours. The name Cab references the leather cab of a horse-drawn carriage.

About the Designer: Mario Bellini (b. 1935, Milan) is an architect and industrial designer whose work spans furniture, electronics, and architecture. He won the Compasso d’Oro five times and is the only designer to have had a one-person retrospective dedicated entirely to his work at MoMA. He has designed landmark products for Olivetti, Cassina, B&B Italia, and Vitra.

Specifications:

Designer: Mario Bellini

Year: 1977

Frame: Tubular steel

Upholstery: Self-supporting saddle-hide leather (16 hand-cut panels, 22 hand processes)

Closure: Zipper fastening up inside of each leg

Dimensions: H 82 × W 52 × D 47 cm, seat H 45 cm

Available finishes: Extensive saddle-hide colour palette

Country of manufacture: Italy

Lead time: 12–16 weeks from order confirmation

Warranty: Cassina manufacturer’s warranty applies

Available Through Le Belle Arti: Le Belle Arti is an authorised Cassina dealer. The Cab is available in your choice of leather colour. Contact us to view samples or discuss a dining or contract project.

For full specifications, materials, and configuration options, visit the B&B Italia official website.

Material: Steel tube skeleton, leather or fabric saddle-stitched skin | Year: 1977 | Collection: Cab

Mario Bellini (born 1935 in Milan) is a Compasso d'Oro laureate, former editor of Domus, and one of Italy's most celebrated architects and designers. His Cab Chair for Cassina (1977) — whose leather saddle-stitched skin is zipped onto a steel skeleton — remains one of the most conceptually pure objects in Italian furniture design.

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