Holly Hunt Reissues Four of the Late Vladimir Kagan’s Most Innovative Pieces

But it wasn’t really the end—at least not in one way. Kagan, who earned a Good Design Award from the Museum of Modern Art in 1952 and was still producing coveted, collectible items in the 21st century, left his many fans with a compelling parting gift: a deep archive of his countless inventions, conceived over the course of a career that spanned nearly 70 years. Now Holly Hunt, which acquired Vladimir Kagan Design Group after his death, is digging through his drawings, notes, and photographs in search of furniture gold and gradually unearthing forgotten treasures. 

“There was so much there we wanted people to see, beyond the Serpentine sofa and other curvy creations everyone knows,” says JoAnnah Kornak, executive creative director at Holly Hunt. By reviving styles from different decades, as Kagan experimented with various forms and materials, she says, “there is an element of surprise,” even for those already familiar with his oeuvre. 

The company had an ideal collaborator in its midst: Chris Eitel, Kagan’s friend, apprentice, and confidant, who began as the designer’s intern and sailing partner in 2013 before quickly rising to the role of director of design and production. “We just got on a roll with our process and the way we were working back and forth,” says Eitel, who assisted Kagan on limited-edition releases as well as updates to his signature classics in the designer’s final years. “He said, ‘If you’d like to apprentice with me, live with me, and travel with me, I’d love to have you along.’ ”

Eitel has been charged with burnishing his former mentor’s legacy. In two previous releases, he handpicked pieces dating from the 1940s through the ’80s. In December, Holly Hunt is releasing four more, all from the ’60s and ’70s: the cocooning Ellipse sofa; the Cycle III chair, which has an upholstered seat and back held aloft by a transparent barrel-shaped Lucite frame; the Cycle III desk chair, which puts a similar style on casters; and the Erica low-back lounge chair. 

Eitel meticulously updated all of them for contemporary materials and manufacturing methods, including new fabrics, foams, and bits of hardware, while also digitizing hand-drawn details, deconstructing vintage designs, and generally translating Kagan’s intent. “It’s a process of studying and deciphering,” says Eitel, noting that he sometimes had to reconcile slight variations to the forms that Kagan introduced over the years as he continually tinkered with small changes and improvements. 

Even after diving deep into the source material, Eitel is still in awe of what Kagan conjured. “It doesn’t matter how many times I go through the archive,” he says. “I always stumble across something new.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2021 Winter Issue under the headline “Curves Ahead.” Subscribe to the magazine.