Category:Lilly Reich

Lilly Reich (16 June 1885–14 December 1947) was a German modernist designer. She was a close collaborator with Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe for over 10 years.

Formative Professional Experience

Reich was born in Berlin. She started her career as a designer of textiles and women's clothes. This experience was to be formative for her - giving her a particular interest in contrasting textures and materials, and specific skills with regard to the use of textiles in furniture.

She worked in the studio of Josef Hoffman in Vienna from 1908. Hoffman was a celebrated modernist designer, responsible for designs such as the Kubus chair (1918), Cabinet (circa 1915), Koller (1911) and Broncia (1912) chairs.

In 1912 she joined the Deutscher Werkbund in 1912; a government sponsored organization dedicated to the promotion of German made products and designes. This was to be a lasting passion and recurring theme in her career.