The chair was designed for a milliner; Madame Mathieu
Lévy who was a highly successful boutique owner which
sold stylish hats. Lévy had commissioned Gray to
re-design her apartment on rue de Lota in Paris. It was
hoped to be new and original, with innovative designs.
The process took four, painstaking years; from 1917 to
1921. During this time, Eileen Gray created the Bibendum
chair along with the interior walls, furnishings, rugs
and lamps. With Gray’s disapproval of the molded walls
that had previously been installed, she put up lacquered
panels instead. She wanted to create the apartment so
that it fulfilled aspirations, suited Lévy’s lifestyle
and would go along with any particular mood.



