The saga of the ‘shrinkable sofa’ reveals an unfortunate truth about the furniture industry

An an industry notorious for chasing trends, true innovation is hard to come by.

As I write this, designerati have just finished their annual schmoozefest in Milan, where they traipsed the halls of the world’s most prestigious furniture fair. But while Salone del Mobile was in full swing, on the other side of the Atlantic a new kind of armchair was taking shape.

This armchair wasn’t dreamed up by a star designer, it isn’t made of white bouclé or velvet, and it isn’t launching on the world’s biggest podium.