At the origin of Togo's design: Michel Ducaroy, standard-bearer of a new era of pioneering designers

At the end of the Second World War, the reconstruction of Europe supported by the Marshall Plan allowed France, like other European countries, to experience economic growth that sometimes reached more than 5% per year. The Trente Glorieuses began, purchasing power soared... the consumer society was on its way. It was during this period that comfort in the home became the norm, supported by the rise of advertising, greatly facilitated by the use of new materials, and encouraged by the emergence of a new generation of designers with a fertile imagination and a search for renewal.
Michel Ducaroy is one of them: he is the one who created the Togo sofa. He was born in 1925 in Lyon, in a family of industrialists who created contemporary furniture, the Chaleyssin factory. He studied at the Ecole supérieure nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, sculpture section, then joined the family business. In 1960, he became head of the department natural of another family business: Maison Roset, based in Briord, in the Ain, specializing in the manufacture of chairs, and which later became Ligne Roset. He stayed there for 26 years, alongside the boss Jean Roset and the sales director Jean-Claude Flageollet, and offered young, innovative, original pieces, many models of seats and sofas that already testify to a new era in the field of design, in line with the new materials used in the sector such as foam, wadding, synthetic materials or even thermoformed plastic.

Togo, the bestseller from Maison Roset

In 1973, Roset presented Michel Ducaroy's Togo at the Salon des Arts Ménagers, an annual event showcasing innovations in housing and equipment. This three-seater cushion sofa, made entirely of foam, without a frame, whose innovative seat blends into the backrest, surprised the public and professionals alike. It received a mixed reception, sometimes arousing incomprehension, sometimes enthusiasm. Its crumpled appearance also stood out. The Togo, unique in its kind, seemed as if curled up. Michel Ducaroy himself said he was inspired by " of a tube of toothpaste bent like a stove pipe and closed at both ends ". And it is this surprising design at first glance that gives this furniture its immense comfort, in addition to its generous padding: foams of three different densities, wrapped in a cover itself filled with polyester wadding. Our Togo is spotted by a few avant-garde personalities, including the members of the jury of the very prestigious René-Gabriel prize, which rewards every year, until the end of the 70s, a creator of modern and innovative furniture in a qualitative and economical range to democratize its use. The Togo is fully anchored in its time and is adopted, in particular by the youth who find it very much to their taste for its relaxed appearance, breaking with the expectations and codes of the bourgeoisie which seem outdated. More than a sofa, the young generation even makes it a Pop Art emblem, and propels it to the rank of design icon, willingly used by artists. The cartoonist Claire Brétécher will present these Frustrés, humorous comic strip characters published in the weekly Le Nouvel Obs (Le Nouvel Observateur), in Togo.
Genuine popularity and undeniable commercial success, which gradually take Maison Roset to the international stage. Our iconic Togo, sold over a million copies, is now marketed in 72 countries and comes in a wide range of fabrics, leathers, colors, patterns, and formats (sofa, armchair, corner model, pouf). Ligne Roset is still a family business, currently run by Antoine Roset and Olivier Roset, the 5th generation at the head of the company, which defends exceptional know-how and is committed to the strictest respect for the production process: 6 hours of very physical work are necessary to manufacture a Togo.

Restoration of the Togo sofa: Ligne Roset focuses on second-hand goods

Since 2021, Ligne Roset has launched into the revaluation of his iconic Togo, even granting a dedicated workshop in its production plant in Chambord. Each recovered sofa is first diagnosed in order to assess its dilapidation and to separate the elements to be recycled from those that can be reupholstered. Then, the reupholstery is done with a new fabric made from recycled PET fibers (obtained by recycling plastic bottles). Finally, each reconditioned product is put back on the market. An approach that is part of a circular economy strategy and responds to ecological and sustainability issues, writing a little more of the history of the iconic Togo sofa, in keeping with the times.

To go further

Interested in the history of Togo Ligne Roset? Discover Sofa, in pursuit of Togo, an investigation to understand this global success. A podcast written by Aurélie Sfez, directed by Charles de Cillia and produced by Radio K7 France.