Everyone has an origin story. For Vladimir Kagan, who would later become one of the leading forces in midcentury design, it was working alongside his carpenter father. Once he had a firm grasp of his father’s trade, Kagan put his own spin on furniture design—creating his inaugural table and chair for his parents in 1947. Despite being a proud member of the Interior Designer Hall of Fame, Kagan’s appropriately named First Chair and First Table were ultimately phased out in 1950 as Kagan opened his eponymous 57th Street storefront with Hugo Dreyfuss.
Now, rediscovering the beauty of the origin story is The First Collection by Vladimir Kagan Design Group, which is exclusively available through HOLLY HUNT Showrooms and HOLLY HUNT partner showrooms. Spearheaded by Chris Eitel, who is both Kagan’s protégé and his brand’s current Director of Design and Production, the collection reimagines the creative’s debut pieces with a few modern updates. Not only does the inside of the First Chair’s arms have a more current and sculptural design, but both pieces are offered in a larger-scale version to accommodate the needs of the modern dweller. Still, the First Table and First Chair offer a preliminary glimpse into Kagan’s enduring, often Avant Garde design perspective.
“There are elements within both of these pieces that influenced his designs for the next several decades,” Eitel explains in a formal statement. “Vladi was endlessly inspired by nature, and you can see this in the way he designed The First Table with a set of four very thin, flared legs that evoke the stance of a baby fawn or filly. This First Collection honors his two earliest designs and represents the first iteration of a design language that defined Vladi’s long and illustrious career.”
Though The First Collection examines Kagan’s origin story, it’s not the first time Eitel (pictured above) has celebrated his mentor’s legacy. In 2022, Eitel released his Forward Collection, which comprises a series of original pieces that paid homage to Kagan’s design DNA. It’s that cellular understanding of Kagan’s work that makes Eitel a qualified successor to the designer’s reign.
“Over the past eight years, [Eitel] has struck a perfect balance between preserving the brand’s rich history with thoughtful reintroductions of vintage designs while also leading the brand into the future with original pieces that translate Kagan’s design language for the modern market,” adds Jo Annah Kornak, senior vice president and executive creative director at HOLLY HUNT.
After all, just like an inspired origin story, a designer’s legacy transcends time.
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