Life is full of coincidences. Last week I learned that David Serrano and Robert Willson of Downtown had introduced a powder-coated steel version of the iconic "loop" chair (see above) made famous by Frances Elkins. Serrano and Willson were inspired to create an outdoor version of the chair after a designer told them that he recalled seeing a metal version of it in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Well, I thought it was an interesting tidbit of design news, and in fact I mentioned it on Facebook a few day ago.
So here's where the coincidence part comes: this weekend I was watching the 1944 film Laura, and lo and behold, there was a metal version of the loop chair:
Here they are on the character Waldo Lydecker's patio. You'll have to click on the photo to zoom in on it, but there are the loop chairs sitting pretty underneath that really fabulous umbrella.
If you look really closely, you'll see that the set designers Thomas Little and Paul S. Fox also used a loop bench on Lydecker's balcony.
And Waldo Lydecker wasn't the only character in the film with metal loop chairs. Ann Treadwell, the title character Laura's wealthy aunt, had them as well.
Now, I didn't have time this weekend to watch Guess Who's Coming to Dinner so I can't comment on that movie's chairs. The metal backs of the Laura version seem to be flat (almost pressed looking), and the loops appear to be beefier than those of the Downtown chair. And if you look at the last photo, there was also a loop table. How great- a loop chair, loop bench, and loop table. Perhaps Serrano and Willson should consider expanding their line.
(And in another slight coincidence, the famous David Raksin theme song of Laura (titled Laura, of course) was the music that my sister, Laura, walked down the aisle to when she got married.)