The LC4 Chaise Longue: the Cassina original versus its imitations

“lc4 replica”, “chaise longue le corbusier imitazione”: it is one of the most copied silhouettes in design. The LC4 — the tilting chaise longue of 1928 — exists in an official version costing several thousand euros and as a dupe at 300. Through a phone lens, they look alike. In the flesh, they do not.

The original

Designed in 1928 by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand: a chromed tubular cradle resting, free, on a black-lacquered H-shaped base. You tilt it to set the angle — hence its name, the “adjustable chaise longue”. Produced today by Cassina.

Spotting a real one

The Cassina stamp

Engraved on the frame: serial number, logo, sometimes the signature. It is the first thing to look for. No mark = not a Cassina.

The chrome and the tube

Thick steel, deep and even chrome. The copies use a thinner tube and a bluish chrome that pits over time.

The cradle and the material

On the original, the mattress (leather, or pony on the emblematic versions) is dense, the straps neatly finished. The H-shaped base is heavy and stable.

And the replicas?

From around €300, you can find faux-leather dupes. The line is there; the stability and durability far less so. Take it for what it is: a silhouette, not a collector’s piece. The price gap with the original often exceeds fifteenfold.

Seen it at someone’s place or in a window? Scan it on Beyit: original Cassina, vintage, or replica — and the three budgets.