All Photos By Gail

If a rainbow could sprout legs and become a piece of furniture, it might look something like the Arc en Ciel semainier by French design duo Élisabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti. Created in 1998 as a limited edition of just eight pieces, this chest of drawers is less about stashing your socks and more about making a serious statement.

The Arc en Ciel (Rainbow in French) lives up to its poetic name with a design that marries lacquered wood, white patinated wrought iron, and embedded colored Saint-Just glass that glows like trapped bubbles of candy. It looks part fairytale, part art installation, and fully committed to the maximalist drama Garouste and Bonetti are famous for.

Measuring a modest 17 x 28 x 6 inches, this compact tower of wonder is a semainier —a tall, narrow chest traditionally meant to hold a week’s worth of clothing or lingerie. But let’s be honest: no one’s buying this to store underwear. This is functional sculpture at its most fantastical.

Garouste and Bonetti — whose work has been dubbed everything from Barbarian chic to neo-Baroque — were never interested in minimalism. Since forming their Paris-based design partnership in the late ’70s, they’ve consistently embraced bold forms, primitive motifs, and whimsical flourishes that defy expectations. The Arc en Ciel series, including this 1998 variation, is no exception. It doesn’t whisper; it sings in color.

Originally produced with the backing of visionary French gallery Néotù, pieces like this now show up at high-end design fairs, auction houses, and in museum collections around the world. With only eight ever made, it’s the kind of piece that turns collectors into treasure hunters.

This semainier is a fantasy captured in wood and glass. Whether you’re a design maximalist or just appreciate a little flair with your functionality, Arc en Ciel proves that storage can absolutely be spectacular.

Photographed at Galerie Gabriel of NYC.