It’s not an easy feat to retain a historic brand while simultaneously updating and expanding it to suit contemporary times. Furniture company Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH (GTV) did a stellar job with its new 2017 collection. Launched at the Salone del Mobile in April, the new collection confidently speaks of GTV’s classic design language of steam-bent wood and woven cane with a fetching contemporary accent, courtesy of the brand’s designer collaborators.

Chair N.O by Swedish design studio Front is an elegant tribute to one of GTV’s first products, Chair N.1. Designed by brand founder Michael Thonet in 1850 for the Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna, Chair N.1 revolutionised the mass production of a chair of its kind and established GTV’s signature of bentwood and woven cane. Front’s Chair N.0 translates them into gentle geometry and a playful single armrest on one side. The chair also debuts GTV’s new technical mesh on the backrest.

French designer Philippe Nigro’s Promenade sofa collection takes its visual cues from the Viennese secession. The collection features a visually arresting structure formed by Canaletto walnut rectangles with rounded corners – a nod to GTV’s 1906 Postsparkasse series.

Designed by Italian studio LucidiPevere, Chignon is a whimsical play of volume and structure. The chair’s bentwood frame was designed to contain its voluminous seat and plump backrest, shaping it into a kind of coiffure with a retro feel – think Princess Leia’s iconic do.

LucidiPevere applied a similar strategy to design of the Pince chair. The key element of the chair is a C-shaped bentwood backrest that supports its shell and ‘pinches’ its upholstery to create a subtle textured detail in the back.

Argentinian designer Christian Mohaded combined bent beechwood and brass-plated steel to create the Duet collection of coffee tables. Elegant yet friendly, the collection is available in two heights and tabletop options of smoked glass or marble.

The new collection also includes Wagasa, a lighting family designed by Milan-based studio Servomuto. Available in floor standing and pendant versions, Wagasa (Japanese word for ‘umbrella’) combines Japanese rice paper and woven cane, with a marble base for the floor standing version.

 GTV is available in Singapore from Space Furniture.