Its airy armrests, its elegant curves and its ultramarine blue, Yves Klein style, did not go unnoticed this Monday morning in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), on the Quai desUnis, which extends the Promenade des Anglais.
Stéphane Belgrand-Rousson, an entrepreneur-inventor, briefly presented the prototype of a new generation blue chair, all aluminum and 100% French.
“We're tired of the old model,” laughs a passerby.
I admit that this one is very beautiful, Nice must look forward to the future.
» “This blue is great!
Can I sit on it?
» says another walker, rather convinced of the comfort.
A few steps away, the man discreetly savors these words, facing a sea of oil.
For several years, this fifty-year-old, who hopes to one day be able to connect Nice to Calvi in Corsica by air sailboat, has been working on a daring project: modernizing, without copying, the famous Prom' armchair.
“I’m attacking an icon.
There was a first version signed Tordo in the 1950s-1960s then the current one, by Jean-Michel Wilmotte (
world-renowned architect-designer
), created in 1990 and for which the rights have expired, he explains.
We wanted to maintain this art deco style with the curve of the armrests and the inclined seat.
»
The town hall says “do not seek to replace the current model”
The creator, surrounded by designer Minh-Lôc Truong and industrialists in the Ardennes, wishes to convince the city to follow him and finance him, after a first attempt more than a year ago.
Not won.
The town hall, which recalls having already carefully studied its initiative, indicates that there is no question of "seeking to replace the current model of blue chairs, which will remain in their places" and will continue to be at the heart of the perimeter to Unesco.
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“It is not a question of replacing them but of installing them on the part of the promenade where there are none,” specifies, for his part, the cautious designer.
While waiting to learn more, he launched a crowdfunding campaign to continue studies and pre-order a numbered copy.
Lovers of blue and design will have to make a big transfer: each collector's piece is priced at 1,850 euros.