Rarify’s First Exhibition Reveals Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Hidden Furniture Legacy

On view at LuisaViaRoma New York during New York Fashion Week, the exhibition celebrates a shared commitment to design innovation, craftsmanship, and quality across architecture, furniture, and fashion

February 11, 2026 (New York, NY) — Rarify, the designer-led company known for its rigorous research and museum-grade collections of historic furniture, presents Furniture by SOM: Design 1950–1991, the first-ever exhibition devoted exclusively to the furniture and interior design legacy of renowned architecture, engineering, and interior design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. Opening during New York Fashion Week and on view through April at LuisaViaRoma New York, the exhibition marks Rarify’s first curated public presentation from its archive and reveals a largely unseen body of work that quietly shaped the visual language of corporate modernism across the second half of the twentieth century.

Spanning more than four decades, the exhibition brings together approximately 50 pieces of historic, predominantly bespoke furniture alongside more than 100 archival artifacts drawn entirely from Rarify’s collection—the most extensive assemblage of SOM furniture in the world. The presentation is complemented by original architectural photography by Ezra Stoller, archival furniture drawings, and rare personal objects, including Gordon Bunshaft’s architect’s seal and his Pritzker Architecture Prize invitation, and offers unprecedented insight into SOM’s philosophy of “total design,” in which architecture, interiors, and furniture formed a unified whole.

“For decades, SOM’s furniture existed in plain sight, but outside the public narrative of modern design,” said David Rosenwasser, co-founder of Rarify and curator of the exhibition. “These are not prototypes or side projects; there are thousands of meticulously designed, project-specific works that defined how modern corporations looked, felt, and functioned. This exhibition is the result of more than a decade of research and collecting, and it represents the first time this body of work has been studied, assembled, and presented as a coherent design legacy.”

From the perspective of furniture historians and collectors, mid-century American modernism is most often framed through the commercial success of Herman Miller and Knoll. Running parallel—but largely outside public view—SOM emerged as an equally influential force that shaped the interiors of the world’s most powerful corporations through bespoke furniture that was never intended for mass production. 

Beginning with projects such as Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in the early 1950s, and continuing through landmark commissions including Chase Manhattan Bank, SOM pursued an uncompromising integration of architecture, interiors, and furnishings under the leadership of Gordon Bunshaft and interior designer Davis Allen.

The exhibition traces SOM’s evolving material language—hand-polished stainless-steel frames, glass and stone surfaces, walnut and teak for managerial spaces, and rosewood and exotic burls reserved for executive environments—while highlighting the extraordinary craftsmanship, customization, and modernist opulence that distinguish the firm’s furniture from contemporaneous commercial offerings. Designers such as Davis Allen, Lydia DePolo, Alexis Yermakov, Charles Pfister, Carol Groh, Raul De Armas, and Nicos Zographos are presented within the context of SOM’s internal design culture, which functioned as an incubator for some of the most influential furniture designers of the mid-to-late twentieth century.

Installed throughout LuisaViaRoma New York’s flagship location, the exhibition occupies a minimalist architectural environment that allows the furniture’s material precision and detailing to take center stage, while existing in dialogue with fashion presented during New York Fashion Week. While select works are available for acquisition, Furniture by SOM: Design 1950–1991 is foremost a scholarly and curatorial endeavor—an exhibition that invites the public, collectors, and institutions alike to encounter a transformative yet long-overlooked chapter in modern design history. Through this exhibition and collaboration, LuisaViaRoma continues its commitment to supporting the world of art and design. LuisaViaRoma’s aim is to act as a cultural platform supporting and hosting artistic expression.

About Rarify

Rarify is a designer-led company specializing in the curation, sale, and creation of rare and collectible vintage and contemporary furniture and lighting. Blending rigorous research, advanced technology, and storytelling with commerce, Rarify offers museum-quality design to architects, developers, institutions, and individual collectors. Its program spans historically significant works by figures such as Florence Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, and Gio Ponti, alongside new, enduring designs developed in collaboration with contemporary brands and designers.

Founded by architects Jeremy Bilotti and David Rosenwasser, Rarify operates an online gallery and a physical space in Pennsylvania, supporting exhibitions, project services, and educational initiatives. The founders’ backgrounds in architecture, design studies, computer science, and design computation inform an approach grounded equally in scholarship and making. Rarify has worked closely with leading manufacturers and design partners including Knoll, Herman Miller, and Gantri, notably contributing to Gantri’s early adoption of advanced digital fabrication through the development and curation of lighting collections that bridged technology, sustainability, and design culture.

Rarify exists in response to a fragmented contemporary design marketplace, where authenticity, context, and quality are often diluted by scale and speed. By combining archival research with ultra–high-resolution photography and meticulous curation, Rarify is building a living digital resource—part online museum, part marketplace—where significant design is presented with clarity and care. Its mission is to ensure that important design—past and present—remains visible, legible, and meaningful for professionals, collectors, and enthusiasts alike.

About SOM

SOM is a global practice of interior designers, architects, and engineers responsible for some of the world’s most technically and environmentally advanced buildings and significant public spaces. From a strategic regional plan to a single piece of furniture, SOM’s designs anticipate change in the way we live, work and communicate, and have brought lasting value to communities around the world. The firm's approach is highly collaborative, and its interdisciplinary team is engaged in a wide range of international projects, with creative studios based across the globe. SOM is a net zero emissions business. Read more at som.com.

About Luisaviaroma

LuisaViaRoma is one of the leading fashion retailers in the world. Founded in 1929 by the Panconesi family with the opening of a small hat boutique in Via Roma in Florence, today the flagship store still stands as a symbol of commitment to artistic thought and experimentation. In the early 2000s, LuisaViaRoma took a pioneering step by launching LUISAVIAROMA.COM, an online destination that revolutionized the way fashion is accessed and experienced online, offering a unique combination of an online fashion platform with avant-garde brick-and-mortar concept stores. LuisaViaRoma offers a curated selection of clothing and accessories for men, women, and children, as well as beauty and home items, featuring collections from international brands. Beyond its commitment to high-end fashion, LuisaViaRoma is also dedicated to sustainability. In 2019, they introduced LVRSustainable, a section devoted to conscious fashion items and brands. This initiative allows consumers to make environmentally responsible choices while enjoying the world of fashion. LuisaViaRoma New York opened in 2024 and is located at 1 Bond Street, New York, NY 10012.