If good design is divisive, then Ligne Roset's Togo sofa must be great indeed. The floor-level "love-it-or-hate-it" seating system has been splitting opinion among design aficionados since its launch in 1973. But if your current sofa isn't cutting it - and you have Dh32,400 to dedicate to your lounging efforts - it could be just the thing.
Togo was created by the designer Michel Ducaroy for the French furniture giant Ligne Roset. An emblem of modernity, it became a 1970s cult classic and, 40 years later, is still one of the brand's best-sellers. A compact, low-lying silhouette is combined with multiple density foam constructions and quilted covers, making for a striking, supple seating solution.
There are no sharp corners or hard spots, and the sofa is extremely lightweight, so if you're prone to moving your furniture around, fear not. And if a single sofa isn't enough for you, the Togo collection also includes chairs, loveseats, corner seats and ottomans.
Unlike many of its Chinese-made contemporaries, Togo is still lovingly crafted in a factory in Briord, a tiny village in France's Bugey region - and the human hand continues to play a vital role in shaping the seat's famous folds. At the time, Ducaroy was struck by the limitless possibilities presented by the emergence of new materials such as high-quality foams and polyester quilting, and Togo is the fruit of those reflections.
He described the piece as "a tube of toothpaste folded over on itself like a stovepipe and closed at both ends". There is certainly something caterpillar-like to the composition.
It's definitely not to everybody's tastes but, back in the '70s, Togo was a true game-changer, says Michel Roset, the chief executive of Ligne Roset. "It was an all-foam seat, very comfortable and very low. What we were saying to people was: 'Change your way of living. Don't be old English, be modern French.'"
The sofa is available from Aati showrooms on Zabeel Road in Dubai and the Shining Towers in Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi, and in the dedicated Ligne Roset store on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai.
