Vica by Annabelle Selldorf opens a showroom at New York Design Center

New York City architect Annabelle Selldorf comes from a long line of designers.

In the 1950s, Selldorf’s grandmother, Ludovica von Issendorf, started a retail emporium based in Cologne, Germany, that made furniture, and other interior design items. The name “Vica” was emblazoned onto the goods in a charming typeface.

Selldorf’s mother, aunt, and uncle all designed pieces for fabrication in Vica’s family workshop. Her father Herbert, an architect, dabbled in furniture design too; he is behind works such as the Sunball, a chair and outdoor lounger made for porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal; and the Brubeck Sofa, a seat inspired by the “syncopations of the Brubeck Quartet.” 

In 2005, Selldorf founded her own independent furniture business, Vica by Annabelle Selldorf, inspired by her grandmother. This March, a new Vica by Annabelle Selldorf showroom opened at the New York Design Center, overlooking Lexington Avenue.

The Vica showroom displays collections of textiles, accessories, and lighting, all curated by Selldorf.

Textiles are hung on the showroom’s white walls, upholstered sofas face a glass coffee table filled with books, and a bespoke light fixture prominently dangles from the ceiling.

The new Vica showroom displays collections of textiles, accessories, and lighting from her colleagues and collaborators, all curated by Selldorf. (Sean Davidson)

Furniture and decor accessories designed by Herbert Selldorf and newer designs by Annabelle Selldorf are presented near textiles by Paul Renwick and Chiarastella Cattana; decorative glass objects by Yali Glass; and lighting by Seguso Vetri d’Arte.

Designs on view at Vica by Annabelle Selldorf emphasize the importance of form, function, and proportion; and balance modernism and traditional sensibilities—something Selldorf, and her family, have understood for a long time.

“Opening a new space in the New York Design Center will allow Vica to be a vital part of New York’s design community,” Selldorf said in a statement. 

Selldorf continued: “Collaborating with designers I admire and presenting their work in conversation with Vica’s heritage and contemporary pieces creates an interesting synergy that I think people will appreciate when they visit the showroom.”