Petite Friture Looks Back For the Future

Thin, flat rings of disc-shaped pendants floated high above the Petite Friture showroom in Paris from January 15 through 19. The Vertigo Pendant Light—Petite Friture’s iconic airy suspension —hovered in gentle layers, its sweeping curves echoing the twisting fins of sea rays in water. Dangled from the ceiling, the sculptural arcs swayed lightly, casting a sense of still movement through the showroom.

Just beneath these decorative fixtures, three chair pieces from French designer and architect René Herbst’s Sandows Collection rested quietly in the space, soaking up the spotlight. The display marked Petite Friture’s first-ever reissue of the collection, featuring the Chair N° 212, the Armchair, and the Daybed N° 114 from the 1927 Sandows series.

A pioneer of steel furniture design, Herbst built his design ethos on clean lines and functional simplicity. The leader of the French Modern Movement championed modernism by stripping away unnecessary ornamentation in favor of crisp, ultramodern forms and functional comfort. In his signature Sandows pieces, tubular steel frames are paired with seats made from elastic rubber strips, anchored in a sleek palette of black and metal silver. 

Today, the three reissued pieces bring Petite Friture’s contemporary spirit to Herbst’s original ideology, merging practicality with aesthetic appeal. The chairs draw out beautifully curved arcs in their armrests, deep seating, and extended leg rests. Elsewhere, the embrace of minimalism and industrial materials—chromed steel, sheathed tensioners, and lacquered wood—nods to Herbst’s belief in mass-produced design for democratic accessibility. The reissue of trio furniture designs marks a new chapter for the French design brand as it continues to work on historical designs while moving forward as a leading contemporary design editor.

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Discover the Sandows collection at petitefriture.com.