Sofa, Looking for Togo

I've been seeing them everywhere. At my friends’ places, at my friends’ parents’ places. They come in all sorts of colour, even with flowers. They strike poses in magazines, on billboards in the subway, at the movies, on social networks… What’s with all this passion for Togo sofas?In this episode, I’m taking the train to Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse, in the middle of the French southwest forests, to meet with lifestyle influencer Marion Gruber. We’re going for a stroll at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris with Dominique Forest, the Chief Curator of Modern & Contemporary department and we’re having a coffee with Jacques Séguéla, the king of trendy and provocative advertising in the 1980s.Lost for words? Follow my journey and find all these personalities on my own map of Togo!‘Sofa, Looking for Togo’ is an adventure and an investigation to try to understand this worldwide success a little better. How did this sofa become such an iconic, inescapable piece of design? Why does everyone want it? What’s its secret? My name is Aurélie Sfez, I’m a journalist and I make documentaries. Come with me on a journey to look for Togo and we’ll see where it leads…This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. Credits :Written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez. Edition : Charles de Cillia, assisted by Paul Lambert de Cursay. Creative Director : Emmanuel Minelle. Coordination, Copy Editing : Fanny Giniès. Translation : Elsa Najar & Dawn Cornelio. Adaptation : Marc Valenduc, Romain Lefebvre & Julien Sabourin. Voice-over : Kathryn Atkins, Ella Perrin, Richard Doust, Roman Facerias-Lacoste & Eli Finberg. Original music : Aurélie Sfez & Charles de Cillia, mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat. Graphic identity : Pierre Manas. Illustrations : Béatrice Bloomfield, Floating Studio. Production : Radio K7 Creative.

From the beach in the French Southwest to Venice Beach I think I overtook Marion Gruber, going from one ocean to the next. After a 12-hour flight, here I am in California! This is Los Angeles, with its palm trees, its super big streets, its motels like in Tarantino movies, and we’re driving around, Looking for Togo. I must be getting close since I saw it in films, and films come from here…In this episode, I’m meeting with set decorator Nancy McIlvaney. I set the GPS to get to The Standard, an ex-mythical hotspot for glamour, where Melissa Volpert used to work. Then I’m heading to Alyssa Coscarelli’s place below Beverly Hills. This young American is a Fashion consultant and Togo aficionado. Lost for words? Follow my journey and find all these personalities on my own map of Togo!‘Sofa, Looking for Togo’ is an adventure and an investigation to try to understand this worldwide success a little better. How did this sofa become such an iconic, inescapable piece of design? Why does everyone want it? What’s its secret? My name is Aurélie Sfez, I’m a journalist and I make documentaries. Come with me on a journey to look for Togo and we’ll see where it leads…This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. Credits :Written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez. Edition : Charles de Cillia, assisted by Paul Lambert de Cursay. Creative Director : Emmanuel Minelle. Coordination, Copy Editing : Fanny Giniès. Translation : Elsa Najar & Dawn Cornelio. Adaptation : Marc Valenduc, Romain Lefebvre & Julien Sabourin. Voice-over : Kathryn Atkins, Ella Perrin, Richard Doust, Roman Facerias-Lacoste & Eli Finberg. Original music : Aurélie Sfez & Charles de Cillia, mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat. Graphic identity : Pierre Manas. Illustrations : Béatrice Bloomfield, Floating Studio. Production : Radio K7 Creative.

My investigation is making progress and the women I’ve met in California have helped me understand that the Togo is nomadic and doesn’t like being abandoned. But I’m still missing some intel: about its identity, the story of its designer and the revolution it apparently embodies. What’s great with this magic couch is that we can teleport. In this episode, we’re back to France and heading East to lie down on the family Togo with Michel and Pierre Roset. They both speak about Michel Ducaroy, the father of Togo. Once back in Paris, I’m visiting the collection storage of the Mobilier National alongside heritage officer and head curator Emmanuel Pénicaut. But who first invented the sofa? Lost for words? Follow my journey and find all these personalities on my own map of Togo!‘Sofa, Looking for Togo’ is an adventure and an investigation to try to understand this worldwide success a little better. How did this sofa become such an iconic, inescapable piece of design? Why does everyone want it? What’s its secret? My name is Aurélie Sfez, I’m a journalist and I make documentaries. Come with me on a journey to look for Togo and we’ll see where it leads…This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. Credits :Written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez. Edition : Charles de Cillia, assisted by Paul Lambert de Cursay. Creative Director : Emmanuel Minelle. Coordination, Copy Editing : Fanny Giniès. Translation : Elsa Najar & Dawn Cornelio. Adaptation : Marc Valenduc, Romain Lefebvre & Julien Sabourin. Voice-over : Kathryn Atkins, Ella Perrin, Richard Doust, Roman Facerias-Lacoste & Eli Finberg. Original music : Aurélie Sfez & Charles de Cillia, mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat. Graphic identity : Pierre Manas. Illustrations : Béatrice Bloomfield, Floating Studio. Production : Radio K7 Creative.

Why don’t we go see what's inside the Togo? What it’s made of? To discover its secrets, you have to understand how it’s made and see the whole production chain. Not miss anything. You have to go to the Ligne Roset workshops. In this episode, we’re returning to Briord where craftsmen make the Togo. Christophe Suchet opens the doors to the design office archive room for us. Then we’re off to Italy, reaching Nera Montoro, to visit the Alcantara plant with our guide Andrea Stasi.Lost for words? Follow my journey and find all these personalities on my own map of Togo!‘Sofa, Looking for Togo’ is an adventure and an investigation to try to understand this worldwide success a little better. How did this sofa become such an iconic, inescapable piece of design? Why does everyone want it? What’s its secret? My name is Aurélie Sfez, I’m a journalist and I make documentaries. Come with me on a journey to look for Togo and we’ll see where it leads…This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. Credits :Written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez. Edition : Charles de Cillia, assisted by Paul Lambert de Cursay. Creative Director : Emmanuel Minelle. Coordination, Copy Editing : Fanny Giniès. Translation : Elsa Najar & Dawn Cornelio. Adaptation : Marc Valenduc, Romain Lefebvre & Julien Sabourin. Voice-over : Kathryn Atkins, Ella Perrin, Richard Doust, Roman Facerias-Lacoste & Eli Finberg. Original music : Aurélie Sfez & Charles de Cillia, mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat. Graphic identity : Pierre Manas. Illustrations : Béatrice Bloomfield, Floating Studio. Production : Radio K7 Creative.

I’ve arrived in New York, it’s my favourite city and the ideal place to get a new perspective on the Togo. Just like in Los Angeles, the Americans here are French design and yéyé music lovers, in other words : the French touch! The Pratt Institute, one of the best design schools in the world, is located in Brooklyn. Is the Togo an object of study for future designers? An inspiration?In this episode, we’re wandering around the campus with Anita Cooney, the Dean of the Pratt Institute’s School of Design, SherylKazak, design teacher, and Chen Chen, a former Pratt student who’s now a designer. In Paris, we’re meeting with renowned historian Michel Pastoureau who analyses the colour trends from the 1970s up until today.Lost for words? Follow my journey and find all these personalities on my own map of Togo!‘Sofa, Looking for Togo’ is an adventure and an investigation to try to understand this worldwide success a little better. How did this sofa become such an iconic, inescapable piece of design? Why does everyone want it? What’s its secret? My name is Aurélie Sfez, I’m a journalist and I make documentaries. Come with me on a journey to look for Togo and we’ll see where it leads…This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. Credits :Written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez. Edition : Charles de Cillia, assisted by Paul Lambert de Cursay. Creative Director : Emmanuel Minelle. Coordination, Copy Editing : Fanny Giniès. Translation : Elsa Najar & Dawn Cornelio. Adaptation : Marc Valenduc, Romain Lefebvre & Julien Sabourin. Voice-over : Kathryn Atkins, Ella Perrin, Richard Doust, Roman Facerias-Lacoste & Eli Finberg. Original music : Aurélie Sfez & Charles de Cillia, mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat. Graphic identity : Pierre Manas. Illustrations : Béatrice Bloomfield, Floating Studio. Production : Radio K7 Creative.

Matt Sorum, the former Guns N' Roses drummer, lives in a breathtaking designer house in Palm Springs, a 2 hour-drive from Los Angeles. He came here to go green with his grey Togos, his seventies decor and his little family. Matt has slowed down a little bit but still has a rock 'n' roll look, a killer convertible and a mind-blowing recording studio. I’ve rarely seen a musician of his calibre so generous and passionate about design. Cherry on the cake : he’s the one who plays the drums on the main theme of our podcast! That too must be part of the Togo magic…  Later in this episode, we’re plunging into Cristian Zuzunaga’s dreams. The Spanish designer once had a revelation with Togo!Lost for words? Follow my journey and find all these personalities on my own map of Togo!‘Sofa, Looking for Togo’ is an adventure and an investigation to try to understand this worldwide success a little better. How did this sofa become such an iconic, inescapable piece of design? Why does everyone want it? What’s its secret? My name is Aurélie Sfez, I’m a journalist and I make documentaries. Come with me on a journey to look for Togo and we’ll see where it leads…This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. Credits :Written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez. Edition : Charles de Cillia, assisted by Paul Lambert de Cursay. Creative Director : Emmanuel Minelle. Coordination, Copy Editing : Fanny Giniès. Translation : Elsa Najar & Dawn Cornelio. Adaptation : Marc Valenduc, Romain Lefebvre & Julien Sabourin. Voice-over : Kathryn Atkins, Ella Perrin, Richard Doust, Roman Facerias-Lacoste & Eli Finberg. Original music : Aurélie Sfez & Charles de Cillia, mixed by Stéphane “Alf” Briat. Graphic identity : Pierre Manas. Illustrations : Béatrice Bloomfield, Floating Studio. Production : Radio K7 Creative.