Prao Sofa by Peter Maly for Ligne Roset

Born in 1936 in Trutnov (in what is now the Czech Republic), German furniture designer Peter Maly attended Detmold, Germany’s Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences), where he studied interior design and graduated in 1960. He spent the first ten years of his professional career at Schöner Wohnen, where he created photo spreads and proselytized to readers on practical design. Near the coda of this editorial work, Maly began to freelance design; among his first proposals were his Serie 1 collection of living room items for Tecta (1967) and his Trinom seating family for Cor (1959). 

In 1970, Maly founded his eponymous design studio in Hamburg, focusing his efforts primarily toward living room and bedroom furniture. Among his first clients was German manufacturer Interlübke, for whom he proposed his Mutaro Chest of Drawers with leather handles (1979) as part of a firm-wide competition. The winning entry, Mutaro sold prolifically for Interlübke. Maly further contributed to the brand’s catalogue with the textile collections Melange (1983) and Graphis (1984), alongside the commercially-successful cabinet system Duo (1983). 

Around the same time, Maly began design work for Ligne Roset. His debut Peter Maly Bed (1983)—a Ligne Roset bestseller that’s still produced today—endures as an exemplar of Maly’s signature: a blend of Bauhaus geometry with the pared-down functionalism of his Danish modernist heroes, Arne Jacobsen, Hans J. Wegner, and Verner Panton. Into the 1980s, Maly continued to swell out his Ligne Roset oeuvre in this timelessly modern vein; a particular standout includes his modular Prao Sofa (1985), which features armrests and a back that can be removed and adjusted. 

Maly has remained active in the 21st century, designing collections and stand-alone pieces for Anta, Behr, JAB Ansteoetz, Poliform, Mauser, Thonet, and Tonon, among others. Of late, Maly has collaborated with Japanese manufacturer Conde House. This ongoing work includes his Tosai seating collection (2007) and Hakama Table (2012), which sleekly combine Maly’s European functionalism with traditional Japanese craftsmanship and material.

Maly has been recognized with a number of awards, including the Federal Prize for Good Form in 1985, the Du Pont International Award in 1986, and the Grand Prix de la Critique in Paris in 1989.

French high-end furniture company Ligne Roset began in 1860, when a young, former waiter, Antoine Roset (1841-1893), opened a woodworking workshop in a small village in the Ain region of eastern France. His company, Veuve A. Roset, specialized in walking sticks and, soon after, parasols.

When the fashions changed toward the end of the 19th century, the company pivoted to focus on the production of frames for chairs and stools. By the time Antoine passed away in 1893, Veuve A. Roset was dedicated exclusively to furniture production. Antoine was succeeded first by his wife Marie-Victorine (1854- 1923), followed by his son Emile (1882-1946) in the 1910s. In 1936, Roset produced its first upholstered seats, mainly in leather.

In 1946, the company passed to the 3rd generation, Jean Roset (1920-1999), who would play a key role in taking the Roset brand to international acclaim. In the postwar years, Jean transformed the company to meet the demands of postwar reconstruction by redirecting production to the contract market—developing modern, Scandinavian-inspired furniture lines suited for use in schools, universities, hospitals, and other public spaces. By the mid-1960s, the company was producing more experimental designs, often utilizing Dacron foam, aimed at the residential market. Examples include Bernard Govin's Asmara Modular Sofa (1966), as well as Michel Ducaroy's Adria Lounge (1968).

1973 was a big year for Roset: the company rebranded "Ligne Roset," the first branded retail spaces were opened, the iconic, pillow-like Togo Sofa by Michael Ducaroy was introduced. Around this time, the 4th generation of Rosets joined, Pierre and Michel, who run the company today.  The company's reputation has only grown in the 21st century, due in large part to the highly editorial character of Ligne Roset's collections, such as the Zen Sofa by Claude Brisson (1986), Profile Sofa by Jean Nouvel (1988), Jean Charles Sofa by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (1988), Facet Sofa by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec (2005), Moel Sofa by Inga Sempé, and the Pumpkin Sofa originally design by Pierre Paulin in 1971 and put into production by Ligne Roset in 2008.