Showing Mexican design and craftsmanship in its unbroken vitality - according to this credo, Benjamin Caja founded the Acapulco Design label in Munich in 2015. As a symbol of Mexico's vibrant way of life, the Acapulco Chair, which dates back to the 1950s, became the brand's first collection piece and source of inspiration. Since then, the German-Croatian entrepreneur Caja, with family connections to Mexico, has continuously developed the collection. In cooperation with German designers, a group of contemporary furniture pieces has emerged that takes the design language of the iconic lounge chair and reinterprets it. In spring 2021, Acapulco Design will present a dining table for the first time together with designer Olivia Herms, long-time project manager at designer Konstantin Grcic. Today, the product portfolio includes the Acapulco Chair in numerous colour and material versions as well as Dining Chairs and side tables.
The myth of a furniture icon made in Mexico
The origin of the iconic design lies in Acapulco in the 1950s, once a glamorous seaside resort on Mexico's Pacific coast and a meeting place for high society. Inspired by the Latin American hammocks, a tourist is said to have designed the chair, according to the legend surrounding its creation. The striking design language and colourful finish of the Acapulco Chair are reminiscent of the vibrant folkloric aesthetics of the country and the exclusive holiday paradise pulsating in its time. Its characteristic shape is based on its specially shaped, galvanised and powder-coated low steel frame and the distinctive lacing of the seat with elastic plastic. The flexible cords connect the outer frame to an inner ring, similar to a leaf structure. This results in the seat shell, which comfortably adapts to the shape of the body. The high-quality material of the Acapulco Chair is UV-resistant in the version available today and is therefore also suitable for outdoor use. Even today, the cult furniture is still made according to traditional techniques in one of Mexico's typical workshops.
Expanding the Acapulco Design collection for an international clientele
Starting with the Mexican Midcentury design of the Acapulco Chair, Caja has developed other collection pieces of the same vibrantly modern and independent aesthetic since the company was founded. Central design elements of the legendary Acapulco Chair are subtly continued. In 2017, a first Dining Chair, the AD-1 cantilever chair, was created in cooperation with the Munich design studio HANSANDFRANZ on the basis of the Acapulco Chair. The steel frame with the inner ring and the characteristic lacing also provides the design principle here. Two years later, the AD-4 Dining Chair followed, in which the seat shell is supported by four legs. Acapulco Design has the Acapulco Chair and the models developed in Germany manufactured in the traditional way in a factory in Mexico City. Great importance is attached to qualitative production under fair conditions. The Munich-based company maintains personal contacts with local employees and suppliers and is closely involved in the production steps. In the structurally weak region, Acapulco Design thus guarantees its employees long-term prospects, fair pay and security at the place of work. In spring 2021, Acapulco Design is expanding its product range for the first time to include a dining table - a piece of furniture that expresses the Mexican attitude to life and sociability. The design comes from the Munich-based industrial designer Olivia Herms and is the brand's first piece of furniture to be manufactured in a Bavarian factory. A filigree metal frame with butterfly-shaped struts forms the basis of the round table. The characteristic element here is also a central ring that creates an elegant connection between the table legs and top. At the same time, the construction facilitates the space-saving transport and assembly of the furniture. Herms also borrows from the design of the Acapulco Chair in her use of colours and materials. The table is available in four tone-on-tone versions, in walnut veneer and with a terrazzo top.
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