IN FASHION, JOURNALISTS LOVE TO TALK ABOUT “INVESTMENT PIECES.” THE PHRASE IS USUALLY SHORTHAND FOR HIGH-TICKET LUXURY: A QUILTED FLAP FROM CHANEL, A COAT BY THE ROW, A VICUÑA KNIT FROM LORO PIANA, A CARTIER TANK. EARLIER THIS MONTH, AN EDITOR AT GQ TRADED IN HIS ROLEX FOR A GEORGE NAKASHIMA CHAIR AND WROTE ABOUT IT WITH THE ZEAL OF A CONVERT. I SMILED IN RECOGNITION. I’VE BEEN QUIETLY MAKING SIMILAR TRADES FOR NEARLY A DECADE.
IN MY TWENTIES, I HAD NO PROBLEM DROPPING CASH ON LUXURY GOODS. I WAS NEVER FLASHY, BUT I LOVED PRADA AND HELMUT LANG. I BOUGHT WITH CONVICTION AND A CREDIT CARD, EVEN WHEN I WAS EARNING £30 A DAY AT MY FIRST JOB. PAY NOW, WORRY LATER. EVEN IF LIFE WAS MORE AFFORDABLE THEN, THE THEATRE OF IT ALL WAS PART OF THE FUN.
BUT VALUES SHIFT. ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND PRODUCTION—HOW GARMENTS ARE CUT, WHERE THEY ARE STITCHED, WHAT MATERIALS ACTUALLY COST—THE MYSTIQUE OF “LUXURY” DISAPPEARS. A BIRKIN IS WIDELY ESTIMATED TO COST A FRACTION OF ITS RETAIL PRICE TO PRODUCE, YET SELLS FOR WELL OVER €10,000. A PATEK PHILIPPE CALATRAVA WILL SET YOU BACK AT LEAST THAT MUCH AGAIN, ACCOMPANIED BY THE POETIC LINE THAT YOU NEVER TRULY OWN ONE; YOU MERELY LOOK AFTER IT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. IT’S BRILLIANT MARKETING. IT ALSO SUBTLY REFRAMES CONSUMPTION AS STEWARDSHIP.
AND STEWARDSHIP IS PRECISELY WHY FURNITURE, IN MY VIEW, IS THE MORE COMPELLING INVESTMENT. NOT BECAUSE EVERYTHING APPRECIATES—MUCH OF IT DOES NOT—BUT BECAUSE OF ITS FUNCTION, LONGEVITY AND DAILY INTIMACY. A HANDBAG THAT COSTS MORE THAN A SOFA. A WATCH THAT COULD FURNISH A ROOM. WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT, THE ARITHMETIC FEELS ALMOST IMPOLITE.
I BOUGHT MY FIRST AUTHENTIC PIERRE JEANNERET CHAIR AT AUCTION: AN OFFICE CHAIR, MODEST IN SCALE. WHAT DREW ME IN WERE THE COMPASS-SHAPED LEGS, THE QUIET GEOMETRY, AND THE PATINA OF THE TEAK THAT HAD DEEPENED OVER HALF A CENTURY. THERE IS A HUMILITY TO THE FRAME. IT DOES NOT SHOUT. IT SIMPLY ENDURES.
BY NOW, MOST DESIGN-LITERATE READERS WILL KNOW PIERRE JEANNERET, WHO WORKED ALONGSIDE HIS COUSIN LE CORBUSIER ON THE PLANNING OF CHANDIGARH, THE MODERNIST CAPITAL OF THE INDIAN STATE OF PUNJAB. CONCEIVED IN THE 1950S AS A RATIONAL, FORWARD-LOOKING CITY FOR A NEWLY INDEPENDENT NATION, CHANDIGARH EMBODIED PRINCIPLES OF ORDER, PROPORTION AND CIVIC DIGNITY. CONCRETE BRISE-SOLEILS MODERATED THE SUN; GRID SYSTEMS ORGANISED LIFE; MONUMENTAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS STOOD AS EXPRESSIONS OF DEMOCRATIC OPTIMISM.
JEANNERET DID NOT ONLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ARCHITECTURE. HE DESIGNED MUCH OF THE FURNITURE FOR THE CITY’S INSTITUTIONS: ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES, LIBRARIES, ASSEMBLY HALLS AND UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS. THESE WERE NOT CONCEIVED AS COLLECTIBLES. THEY WERE ROBUST, LOCALLY MADE PIECES, OFTEN IN TEAK, DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND HEAT, DUST AND HEAVY USE. THE FORMS WERE DIRECT, ALMOST AUSTERE—V-LEGS, CANE SEATS, SIMPLE JOINERY. UTILITY FIRST, ALWAYS.
IT IS UNLIKELY THAT JEANNERET IMAGINED THAT, DECADES LATER, THESE VERY CHAIRS WOULD BE SOLD THROUGH INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES AND AUCTION HOUSES. AS RECENTLY AS THIS YEAR, A LIBRARY TABLE FETCHED MORE THAN €75,000. MANY OF THE ORIGINAL PIECES WERE DISCARDED IN THE 1980S AND 1990S, ONLY TO BE “REDISCOVERED” BY EUROPEAN DEALERS WHO RECOGNISED THEIR FORMAL CLARITY AND HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE. THE REST, AS THEY SAY, IS MARKET HISTORY.
NATURALLY, THE JEANNERET BOOM HAS SPAWNED A PARALLEL UNIVERSE OF REPRODUCTIONS. IN INDIA AND BEYOND, WORKSHOPS PRODUCE VERSIONS—SOME FAITHFUL, SOME LESS SO. THERE ARE ALSO PIECES PRESENTED AS AUTHENTIC THAT ARE ANYTHING BUT. PERSONALLY, REPRODUCTIONS DO NOT TROUBLE ME. GOOD DESIGN SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE. IF THE PRINCIPLES ARE RESPECTED AND THE DESCRIPTION IS HONEST, THERE IS ROOM IN THE WORLD FOR BOTH ORIGINAL AND INTERPRETATION. LEVI STRAUSS MAY HAVE POPULARISED THE FIVE-POCKET JEAN, BUT THE FORMAT BELONGS TO THE CULTURE NOW AND PRACTICALLY EVERY FASHION BRAND OFFERS A VERSION OF IT. WHY SHOULD FURNITURE BE DIFFERENT, PROVIDED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS RESPECTED?
ROBUST VINTAGE MARKET
FROM A BUYER’S PERSPECTIVE, THE SECONDARY MARKET FOR DESIGN FURNITURE IS QUIETLY ROBUST. BEYOND HIGH-END PLATFORMS LIKE 1STDIBS, THERE IS SUSTAINED DEMAND FOR LATE 20TH-CENTURY PIECES—ITALIAN SEATING BY FLEXFORM, LIGHTING BY FLOS, AND OTHER UNDERSTATED BRANDS THAT PRIORITISED PROPORTION AND CRAFTSMANSHIP OVER SPECTACLE. THE 1980S AND 1990S ARE NO LONGER CONSIDERED MERELY “USED”; THEY ARE ENTERING THE CANON.
THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IS QUALITY. PIECES THAT AGE WELL. WORKSHOPS WHERE JOINERY MATTERS. MATERIALS CHOSEN NOT FOR MARGIN BUT FOR DURABILITY. CRAFT IS NOT NOSTALGIA; IT IS INFRASTRUCTURE. WHEN EXCELLENCE IS EMBEDDED AT THE POINT OF MAKING, TIME BECOMES AN ALLY RATHER THAN AN ENEMY.
CONSIDER GEORGE NAKASHIMA. HIS GRASS-SEATED AND SPINDLE-BACK CHAIRS CAN TAKE UP TO A YEAR TO DELIVER, NOT BECAUSE A SINGLE CHAIR REQUIRES THAT LONG AT THE BENCH, BUT BECAUSE PRODUCTION REMAINS LIMITED AND DEMAND IS STEADY. THERE ARE WAITING LISTS. THERE IS CONTINUITY. THERE IS ALSO A CLEAR LINEAGE OF TECHNIQUE PASSED DOWN THROUGH A SMALL NUMBER OF HIGHLY SKILLED CRAFTSPEOPLE. THAT, TO ME, FEELS CLOSER TO THE SPIRIT OF “YOU NEVER REALLY OWN THIS” THAN ANY SLOGAN.
CONTRAST THIS WITH THE CONTROLLED SCARCITY MODEL PERFECTED BY HOUSES LIKE HERMÈS. IT DOES NOT TAKE SIX MONTHS TO PHYSICALLY MAKE A BAG, BUT INVENTORY IS CAREFULLY MANAGED—OR AT LEAST PERCEIVED TO BE—TO SUSTAIN DESIRE. THE THEATRE OF WAITING IS PART OF THE VALUE PROPOSITION.
YET A HANDBAG, HOWEVER EXQUISITE, IS RARELY ENOUGH ON ITS OWN. ONE DOES NOT SUFFICE FOR EVERY OCCASION. THERE IS ALWAYS ANOTHER COLOUR, ANOTHER SIZE, ANOTHER SEASON. THE CYCLE ENCOURAGES ACCUMULATION.
AN ARMCHAIR OR SOFA IS DIFFERENT. IT IS CHOSEN FOR A SPACE, FOR A BODY, FOR A LIFE. IT ANCHORS A ROOM. IT ABSORBS CONVERSATION, BOOKS, CHILDREN, DOGS, THE SLOW DRIFT OF EVENINGS. YOU DO NOT ROTATE IT WITH THE SEASONS. YOU LIVE WITH IT. OVER TIME, IT ACQUIRES THE ONE THING NO BRAND CAN FABRICATE: MEMORIES.
AS A COLLECTOR, I AM WARY OF THE WORD “INVESTMENT.” MARKETS MOVE. TASTES SHIFT. LIQUIDITY IS NOT GUARANTEED. BUT IF WE MUST USE THE TERM, I WOULD ARGUE FOR INVESTMENTS THAT SERVE US DAILY, THAT IMPROVE WITH AGE, AND THAT CAN CREDIBLY OUTLAST US.
A WATCH MAY BE PASSED TO THE NEXT GENERATION IN ITS BOX. A CHAIR WILL HAVE HELD THEM FIRST.
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