The second collaboration between Paul Smith and Artek transforms Alvar Aalto’s stool 60 with bold tones while preserving its modernist spirit
There is furniture, and then there are objects that have shaped our culture so profoundly they have become design icons. The Stool 60 by Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto undoubtedly belongs to the latter category.
First launched in 1933, this simple, three-legged birch stool revolutionised design by combining radical ideas with visionary aesthetics. Now, British menswear legend Sir Paul Smith has once again added his own colourful twist to this masterpiece, infusing it with his distinctive, joyful spirit in the second edition of his collaboration with Finnish design house Artek.
But let’s take a step back: what does it take for an object to become one of the most recognisable furniture designs in history? As Le Corbusier once observed, ‘Chairs are architecture, sofas are bourgeois.’ For the modernist architect – who famously referred to the house as ‘a machine for living’ – chairs were more than functional objects; they embodied principles of structure, proportion and modernity, balancing ergonomics with innovation.
Beyond chairs, the past century has produced pieces of furniture that transcend their everyday function while still meeting practical needs. A touchstone of their time, these products entered our collective consciousness, changing how we interact with domestic spaces both on a practical and emotional level.
Whether used as a seat, a side table or a display surface, the Stool 60 stands as a beacon of functionalism and understated beauty.
Paul Smith x Artek: The Stool 60
Its sinuous L-shaped legs, crafted from bent plywood and directly screwed into a circular disc, embody both simplicity and innovation combining romantic yet pragmatic intentions. Manufactured by Artek, the company Alvar Aalto founded with architect (and his wife) Aino Aalto, patron Maire Gullichsen, and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl, the stool reflects the brand’s original mission ‘to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living’. To this extent, the company’s name, a fusion of “art” and “technology”, echoes Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus motto.
‘I have been a longtime admirer of Aino and Alvar Aalto, so a collaboration with Artek is a dream come true,’ says Sir Paul Smith. ‘Quality and practicality are two things I value highly when designing – whether in fashion, furniture or something else entirely,’ he adds.
Their first partnership, launched last in 2024, reimagined some of Artek’s classics in four different wood stains, evoking a muted take on Paul Smith’s signature stripes. This second edition shifts the focus to the stool itself, introducing a bold red accent on the underside of the seat, like a hidden message.
‘What’s novel in Paul Smith’s interpretation is the idea of assigning a distinct colour to each individual component of the product,’ says Marianne Goebl, Artek’s global managing director. ‘This approach brings a fresh, playful dimension to the design while staying true to Artek’s spirit of material honesty and functional beauty.’
After all, colour – used like ‘punctuation marks’, in the words of Sir Paul – has always been one of his most powerful design tools. Since launching his eponymous brand in the 1970s from a tiny three-by-three-metre shop in Nottingham, the British designer has become globally acclaimed for tailored menswear silhouettes enlivened by elements of spirited curiosity, often expressed through unexpected bursts of colour.
‘What we admire most about Paul Smith’s approach is how he effortlessly balances respect for tradition with a playful sense of surprise,’ says Marianne Goebl. ‘He brought a deep appreciation for Artek’s history while adding his own energy through colour and composition. The result feels both familiar and refreshingly new.’ For us, it’s a collaboration that reads like a match made in design heaven.
£330; paulsmith.com
