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Frédéric Sofia × Kettler: Radical and sensitive
With Latitude, Frédéric Sofia breathes new life into Kettler, the iconic German garden furniture and sports brand that had been lying dormant. It is a collection with a precise and sensitive design, whose effective minimalism reflects both the designer's vision and the brand's founding spirit.
Its bold, simple, and geometric volumes, shunning any formal excess, assert themselves with quiet confidence.
"Industrial design is an emotional adventure that involves everyone," says Frédéric Sofia. "I hit it off immediately with this somewhat forgotten heritage brand, which provided me with all the human, financial, and technical resources needed for the project."
Launched just two years ago, the project required an intense year of reflection and research, followed by another year dedicated to industrialization.
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Reinventing a German icon
The initial brief was ambitious: to design a family of furniture united by a common formal language, intended for the contract market—hotels, restaurants, lounge areas, or pool decks—but also, eventually, adaptable for retail and accessible to design enthusiasts.
Chairs, armchairs, tables, modular sofas, benches, footrests, parasols, daybeds, sunloungers… A complete vocabulary of contemporary outdoor comfort.
For Sofia, the challenge was twofold: to meet the brand's constraints while imagining a coherent and original range capable of giving Kettler a true identity, having missed the shift toward design.
"Kettler is a historic and popular brand in Germany," he explains. "I wanted to find a design that speaks to its roots, on a European scale."
Founded in 1949 in North Rhine-Westphalia, the company, with over sixty years of experience, initially designed leisure equipment—bicycles and toys like the famous Kettcar (1962)—before specializing in outdoor furniture in the 1970s. Driven by its philosophy of quality, durability, and comfort, it quickly established itself internationally.
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"Back to the source"
True to his method of listening, observing, and reflecting, Frédéric Sofia chose to "go back to the source." He directed his research toward an industrial aesthetic that is both radical and sensitive: a stripped-back, demanding, and precise design where form and function respond to one another.
Between the Wedge Design spirit of Giorgetto Giugiaro, creator of the Volkswagen Golf 1, and the humanistic functionalism of Dieter Rams (Braun), Latitude unfolds as a manifesto of clarity and precision.
The range asserts a discreet and innovative personality.
"The core of the collection is the bridge chair. In the metal furniture market, there is strong demand for cushioning, but it is often treated as an afterthought. So, from the very beginning, I envisioned a system of removable cushions that are integrated into the design and can be customized to meet the client's needs."
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A durable, rational, and technical design
This is how a collection of rare scale in outdoor furniture was born—one of the most extensive on the market, according to the designer.
The initial versions, featuring soft, powdery tones (green, light gray, taupe), will be followed by other colors.
Combining the honest vision of the creator of the Luxembourg chair for Fermob with German industrial rigor, Latitude celebrates Sofia and Kettler’s shared love for aluminum: durable, lightweight, and responsive to light.
Slim and ribbed, reminiscent of a topographic map, its lines are composed of die-cast parts and extruded aluminum—fully recyclable and incorporating up to 50% recycled material.
Robust, repairable, and timeless, the collection is built to last.
Previewed at Silvera during Paris Design Week and at Maison&Objet, Latitude marks a new era for Kettler: one of design that is simultaneously rigorous, sensitive, understated, geometric, and radical.
Latitude, or the awakening of a sleeping beauty.
"Industrial design is an emotional journey that engages everyone involved," says Frédéric Sofia.
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