Legend has it that a French tourist was visiting Acapulco in the '50s and was uncomfortably hot atop a solidly-constructed chair in the Mexico sunshine. Inspired by the open string construction of traditional Mayan hammocks nearby, he designed a chair fit for the modern tropics.
Whether or not this is true — who was that mysterious visionary Frenchman? — the Acapulco chair was first produced in the '50s, and quickly became popular in Mexico. Usually made of vinyl cords on a metal, slightly pear-shaped frame, the Acapulco chair has most commonly been used as outdoor lounge seating, in bright, tropical colors.
Lately, designers have been producing some variations on the Acapulco theme — round versions, leather versions, Mobius strip loveseat versions, etc. In all its iterations, the Acapulco chair shows its roots in folk design, modernism and tropical Hollywood glamour.
Sources: Greenpoint Works handmakes the Classic ($399) and Leather ($499) versions in Brooklyn. Innit Designs makes a Classic ($475), a Rocker ($480) and a child-sized version ($250). Ocho Workshop has lots of fun colorful versions and is based in Mexico. Apparently it's also available (and inexpensive!) all over Acapulco, so if you go, please bring some back for me?
MORE ICONIC CHAIRS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
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• The Butterfly Chair: Origins of a Modern Favorite
• Man of Steel (Mesh): Harry Bertoia's Famous Chairs
(Images: 1 The Acapulco chair from Greenpoint Works; 2 Vintage Coke ad, via vintageadbrowser.com; 3 1963 Elvis movie, Fun in Acapulco, via VVN; 4 Acapulco Chair in red from Acapulco Chair; 5 Acapulco Leather chair from Greenpoint Works; 6 Acapulco chairs at the Standard Hotel, New York (in the background), via quintessentiallyreserve.com; 7 Woman weaving a Mayan hammock, from stylemexican.com; 8 Pedro Reyes "Moebius Strip" Acapulco loveseat, via Core 77.)
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I've always loved this chair. It's great to learn a bit more about it.
But any chance of getting more info on its cousin the hoop chair?
http://www.alittleobsessed.com/?p=7
I love the look but I can't imagine these being comfortable to sit on.
Hi! I live in Mexico City and here you can get these chairs from street vendors in Roma/Condesa every weekend (they make you the chair in every color you can imagine). They cost about 60 USD and are amazingly confortable to sit in! I love them!
I lived in Acapulco for awhile and came across many of these :) They're quite comfortable and very cute.
My butt hurts just looking at these, but they are pretty interesting looking.
They aren't bad. I would like 4-6 for my patio, but not at the US costs. I stayed at the Thunderbird Motel in Marfa TX (each room has a pair). they said they got theires across the border for cheap. Not sure if it's worth the risk to make the trip for chairs......
Innit Acapulco chair is $475 including shipping in the US and Canada. We also have a hoop chair similar to the acapulco chair but perfectly round.