The cylindrical glass tumblers from Vienna have conquered the world. It would most certainly have pleased Adolf Loos to see an industrially manufactured variant of his design from the 1930s in any café you might happen to walk into. The original, which was considered to be provocatively simple in those days, has been produced ever since by Lobmeyr. Tiny details, more felt than seen,
make these glasses objects one simply loves. In a letter to Lobmeyr,
Loos suggested engraving motifs on the base: ‘butterfly, fly, a nude human figure, little animals, etc’ – an unusual proposal to be made by a purist. The New York-based graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister has now been commissioned to deliver his interpretation. The result: ‘SEVEN DEADLY SINS – SEVEN HEAVENLY VIRTUES’.