Curator, editor and manufacturer of iconic Mexican 20th century design.
CLÁSICOS MEXICANOS
Founded in 2018, Clásicos Mexicanos® is a design firm dedicated to promoting the legacy of outstanding Mexican 20th —century architects, designers, and artists whose creations have become timeless, iconic, and collectible—in other words, Mexican classics.
The firm’s work is based on an exhaustive historical research process to rescue, manufacture, and market a curated and authenticated selection of designs.
The collection includes works by Antonio Attolini, Roberto Eibenschutz, Armando Franco, Mathias Goeritz, Ernesto Gómez Gallardo, Agustín Hernández, Ricardo Legorreta, Po Shun Leong, Manuel Parra, and Michael Van Beuren, among others, recognized for their contributions to 20th-century Mexican architecture and design.
oUR wORLD
The work of Clásicos Mexicanos® is founded on a rigorous process of historical research, a continuous dialogue with authors or their heirs, and a deep understanding of the essence and intentions behind each creation. Many of these pieces have never been commercially produced before; until now, they existed only as preserved prototypes, historical drawings, or unique works embedded in architectural projects. The firm seeks to honor the legacy of Mexican talent and its enduring influence on the world of design. At Clásicos Mexicanos®, understanding Mexico’s profound contributions to modernism is a guiding principle. Born from the upheaval and aspirations of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), Mexico ́s modern movement is deeply intertwined with the nation’s political and cultural identity.
Shaped by the rich layers of pre-Hispanic traditions, indigenous heritage, and national history, Mexico’s modern movement was more than an aesthetic revolution—it was a deliberate effort to shape a cohesive and distinct identity. Today, this legacy continues to be a cornerstone of what defines Mexicanidad.
Exhibition at Clásicos Mexicanos’ first location at Tres Picos in Polanco, Mexico City
Amalia Hernández’ Mexican School of Folkloric Ballet, designed by Architect Agustín Hernández
Blueprint of Armando Franco’s SL4 COFRAN Chair
Clásicos Mexicanos is defined by a passion for detail and quality, by a desire to demonstrate that throughout the 20th Century, Mexico was at the heart of a global discourse in architecture and design, and by a concern to represent the spirit in which these pieces were originally conceived.
A CAREFUL MONITOR
With a team of academic researches, design curators and technical experts, Clásicos Mexicanos® develops and manufactures each piece in its own workshop.
The firm is dedicated to ensuring historicalaccuracy in every detail while maintaining the highest standards of craftsmanship and quality.
Collectively, with the support of our friends, colleagues, and fellow lovers of form, we are in search of the impossible: to establish a brand that thoroughly represents the history of modern design in Mexico. The impossibility of such a search is, of course, what keeps us going.
Each piece that we make provides a link to a Mexican history of design and architecture. But they are also very much from our time, as the craft has evolved with time, surviving industrialization, and because the woods, leathers and textiles have also evolved.
Although we work with state-of-the-art tools and machinery these pieces always require a talented hand. Therefore, our products are not only fragments of time, but they are also time itself: the time dedicated to creating them and the time of careful and painstakingly detailed work by highly skilled masters in wood, upholstery, and design development.
Kvadrat Tonica 2 Fabric
Kvadrat Hallingdal 65
In order to transmit time through our pieces, we must find the right materials and partners. For our upholstered chairs we have found a superb partner in Kvadrat textiles, from whom we source the fabric Tonica 2 for The Eco Chair and Hallingdal 65 for the Tepoztlán chair. These textiles have the unique quality of referring us to the past while still seeming contemporary.
All our woods and leather are sourced within the highest sustainability international standards. Our woods are sourced from sustainable forests and treated in certified processing plants. Similarly, we obtain the leathers we use from certified, conscious producers and retailers. For us, it’s just as important to be responsible with our environment as it is to create wonderfully unique pieces.
