Dutch celebrity designer Jan des Bouvrie, known for creating the iconic Cube sofa and introducing white, minimalist interiors to the Netherlands, has passed away at the age of 78 after a multi-year battle with colon cancer.
He died on Sunday, 4 October, in his hometown of Naarden, surrounded by his children and his wife and collaborator Monique des Bouvrie.
The designer, who celebrated 50 years of working in the industry last year, created furniture, interior and architectural designs as well as hosting Dutch interiors show TV Woonmagazine until 2003.
Des Bouvrie was a well-known media personality and society figure in Holland and designed a number of residences in the Gooi area, known for housing the wealthy and famous.
At the same time, he prided himself in designing both "for rich and poor", through collaborations with Dutch mass-market brands such as hardware store Gamma, Sigma paints and electronics company Philips. "Surely the largest interior icon in the Netherlands"
Design industry figures have taken to social media to share tributes to Jan des Bouvrie, alongside famous fans such as football player Patrick Kluivert and celebrity stylist and makeup artist Leco van Zadelhoff.
Studio Job founder Job Smeets, shared a hand-drawn note on Instagram reading "RIP [rest in peace] Jan" (below.)

 

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A post shared by JOB (@jobsmeets) on Oct 4, 2020 at 11:09am PDT

"This r...