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?Designed for Ligne Roset in 1973 by Michel Ducaroy, its super cool silhouette immediately evokes the 70s. Today it sells like hotcakes, if you don’t have a Togo you’ve missed the boat… well nearly ! It’s the pioneer, the boss of your TV room, the cocoon for cuddles, the supreme sofa.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…Listen to Sofa, looking for Togo on all podcasts and streaming platforms. Sofa, Looking for Togo, a podcast written and hosted by Aurélie Sfez, edited by Charles de Cillia and produced by Radio K7 Creative.This series was awarded the prize for Best Branded Podcast at the Paris Podcast Festival 2023. 

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.

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.

New York I’m back ! I’m going through the Lower East Side to get to the Forward Building, close to Chinatown. In this district, we come across all the communities that make Manhattan such a rich place. Felix Burrichter, the founder and editor of Pin-Up Magazine, has settled at the top of this historic building. On his desk, he shows us a mosaic of colourful photos with Togos a-go go!In this final episode, we then head north to Chelsea to go to Gagosian, a famous art gallery. Antoine Roset is giving a conference there and I’m seizing this opportunity to walk around with my mic and recorder on… In Paris, French writer Chloé Delaume depicts the Togo as a fictional character.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.