Airline 009 Chair by Cory Grosser

In 2007, Walt Disney Signature, Disney’s adult lifestyle brand, asked Cory Grosser, a successful independent product designer with a Los Angeles based studio, to design a new armchair and ottoman inspired by the Airline Chair of 1934, designed by Kem Weber, which is part of Disney’s history. This chair was, in fact, commissioned in more than three hundred pieces for the projection rooms, lounge and offices of the new Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Los Angeles, opened following the success of the “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1938.

The name of the chair derives from the seat of airplanes and it perfectly expresses the desire of Streamlining, the famous American design movement of the 1930s, to include in design the latest discoveries coming from the modern industry. The solidity and strength of the frame allowed the designer to eliminate the rear legs of classic chairs, offering a more comfortable seat. Made by Cory Grosser, the revisitation of the chair, renamed for the occasion ”Airline 009”, keep reference with the past, but adding modernity to it with a more streamlined and minimalistic shape. The frame is made of walnut, while cushions use injected polyurethane foam and are covered in smooth, fine leather available in ten different colors. The possibility of adding an ottoman make it suitable not only for wok purposes, but also for a lounge ambience. Walt Disney Signature and Grosser were able to bring on the market once again the magic which characterize the brand, by masterly blending the flavor of retro of the design with the modernity of lines and materials.