The iconic "egg chair" prominently featured in the Men in Black (MIB) film franchise is a quintessential piece of mid-century modern design, contributing significantly to the movies' sleek, futuristic, and slightly retro aesthetic. These chairs are a memorable part of the MiB headquarters' set design.
Design and Designer
The specific chair often referred to is the Ball Chair, designed by Finnish furniture designer Eero Aarnio in 1963. However, the chairs used in the Men in Black films, particularly in the headquarters scenes, are more accurately identified as derivations or close relatives, most notably the Ovalia Egg Chair. The Ovalia was designed by Danish designer Henrik Thor-Larsen in 1968.
- Eero Aarnio's Ball Chair: A sphere with a section removed, upholstered on the inside, creating a "room within a room" feeling.
- Henrik Thor-Larsen's Ovalia Egg Chair: More egg-shaped (ovoid) than perfectly spherical, often seen with built-in speakers, which aligns well with the MIB's technologically advanced setting. This is the chair most closely associated with the film.
Significance in Men in Black
The choice of these chairs for the MIB headquarters was deliberate:
- Futuristic Aesthetic: Their unconventional, pod-like shape contributed to the futuristic and slightly alien feel of the MIB organization.
- Isolation and Focus: The enclosing nature of the chair design suggests a space for concentration and private communication, fitting for secret agents.
- Retro-Futurism: The chairs, being designs from the 1960s, lent a "retro-futuristic" vibe – a vision of the future as imagined from the past. This complements the MIB's long-standing, clandestine nature.
- Iconic Imagery: Scenes featuring Will Smith's character, Agent J, or Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K, seated in these chairs became instantly recognizable and synonymous with the franchise's visual identity.
The Ovalia Egg Chair, particularly the white models with red upholstery seen in the first film (1997), became an iconic piece of movie furniture, forever linked with the secretive world of the Men in Black. Their appearance underscored the blend of cool, sophisticated technology and a timeless sense of style that defined the MIB universe.
