Robin Day's iconic 675 chair is a design classic. It was originally created in 1952 and typifies midcentury British design, featuring a curved walnut-veneered plywood back with integrated armrests. This summer, the original design has undergone a reinterpretation - or, to be precise, fifteen different reinterpretations - as fifteen leading textile designers have injected some contemporary colour and pattern into the upholstery of the chair. 

The reimagined chairs are being auctioned in aid of the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation, which is now headed by Paula Day - Robin and Lucienne's daughter. This charity promotes the legacies of the designers and supports design education. This year, the Foundation has organised a project called A Day to Remember, in partnership with Case Furniture and Heal's. Before the auctions started on the 1 August, you may have seen the Day to Remember chairs on display at Heal's on Tottenham Court Road in London. 

Among the fifteen designers involved in this project are David Irwin, Eleanor Pritchard and Margo Selby. They chose fabrics for the chairs' seats that reflected their design styles, while aiming to complement the features of the chair's design. Bill Amberg used hand-stitched leather for the chair's backrest and seat, drawing attention to the elegant simplicity of the chair's form. 

Robin Day (1915 - 2010) was one of the most significant British furniture designers of the 20th century and had a career that lasted for over seven decades. 

Blog post by Jessica Edney. Robin Day is mentioned in Eleanor Flegg's article Loom Large in the Endeavour issue. Subscribe to Selvedge here.