By Jules Hartmann
Design & Interiors Editor

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Milan, Italy — After a decade of zoomorphic maximalism—furniture shaped like roaring tigers, howling wolves, and couches that practically purr—one design house is hitting the brakes on the animal-shaped arms race. The new HALFCAT Armchair, released this week by renowned Italian design brand Atelier Vitturo, marks a turning point: feline elegance, reinterpreted with subtlety, restraint, and ironic charm.

Available in two distinct versions—low backrest and high backrest—the HALFCAT isn’t a cat-shaped chair. It’s a chair haunted by the idea of cat-ness.

“We wanted a piece that suggested the presence of a cat, without impersonating one,” says Renzo Ferri, lead designer at Atelier Vitturo. “Less jungle gym, more whispered posture.”

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Subtle Symbolism Over Showy Shapes

The HALFCAT’s curves are sinuous yet minimal, its silhouette evoking the gentle arc of a feline spine without mimicking it. The backrest flares slightly at the sides—a nod to alert ears, while the seat’s tailored dip references the space a cat might leave after curling up and vanishing. Upholstery options include tones named “Whisker Fog,” “Sleeping Tail,” and “Lap Absence.”

The low-back version is sleek and contemporary—ideal for casual lounges and open-plan studios. The high-back edition, however, turns more introspective: sculptural, softly enclosing, and ideal for what Atelier Vitturo calls “private spatial purring.”

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Yesterday’s Animals: A Brief History of the Over-Zoomorph

To understand the HALFCAT’s quiet provocation, one must look back at the recent history of creaturely furniture.

The mostly common decision of zoomorphic furniture geeks always led to the feline product lines.

There were of course a lot of other variants of this type:

• The ROARSOFA (2020, Denmark) – A velvet lion-shaped couch with armrests resembling paws and a mane-like headrest. Popular with boutique hotels and TikTok influencers, less so with actual sitters.

• The SLOTHBOOTH (2022, USA) – A slow-motion beanbag inspired by a hanging sloth, complete with plush claws. Comfortable but controversial, especially after the incident in Miami where a guest mistook it for a taxidermy piece.

• LEOPARDLIGHT (2023, South Korea) – A floor lamp that growled softly when touched. Marketed as “emotive lighting,” but discontinued after too many households reported cats attacking it.

The HALFCAT, by contrast, resists literalism. It’s not here to be a cat. It’s here to remember one.

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Functional Philosophy

Atelier Vitturo has always dabbled in the surreal-meets-functional. Their 2018 “FLEXTREE” coat rack (designed to resemble a young willow mid-nod) and the 2021 “NESTLESS” shelving system (which leaned precariously but never fell) were lauded for merging emotional suggestion with practical utility.

But the HALFCAT takes things further—into the realm of furniture as emotional suggestion.

“In the ~NU era of semiotics and softened presence,” says design theorist Marco Elsing, “HALFCAT is less about cat furniture and more about cat philosophy. It doesn’t pounce. It lingers.”

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Early Response & Market Outlook

Initial buzz from design fairs in Milan and Rotterdam has been overwhelmingly positive. Boutique hotel chains and luxury coworking spaces are already placing advance orders. A limited-edition collaboration with the surreal-symbolic movement ~NU relations is rumored, which may involve embroidered TEDDY & CAT glyphs hidden beneath the seat cushions.

Retail price starts at €2,490 (low-back) and €3,350 (high-back), available in six textured finishes and optional velvet “sleep tail” bolsters.

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Conclusion: Purring into the Future

In a world oversaturated with literal design and spectacle, the HALFCAT armchair asks us to feel rather than see—to sense the presence of something soft, intelligent, and elusive, without ever declaring it outright.

It’s not about sitting on a cat.
It’s about sitting with the idea of one.

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