Summer floats have become the ubiquitous fun accessory on social media: celebrities, Insta-stars and fashion influencers often appear to be blissfully relaxing on one of them surrounded by the crystal clear waters of a pool, a beautiful lagoon or a turquoise sea, making the less fortunate among us feel incredibly jealous.
Unicorns, flamingos, swans and rainbows have become de rigueur for that perfect Instagram shot, and Funboy, the float company that has been producing trendy pieces in the last three years recently added to its offer mermaids, seahorses, llamas, a giant crown and a butterfly-shaped raft, the result of a collaboration with Italian knitwear house Missoni (the company's multicoloured fiammato patterns are replicated on the butterfly wings).
A while back Funboy also came up with artist editions of its swan floats, decorated by artist Alex Yanes, mural artist and photographer Kelcey Fisher, better known as Kfish, and photographer Gray Malin.
Two years ago Grey Area, a boutique that commissions and sells design objects by contemporary artists, also opted for the arty inflatable, commissioning toys designed by art collaborative FriendsWithYou and artists Jen Stark, Devin Troy Strother and Misaki Kawai.
Yet the arty pool toy or inflatable is not a new concept: indeed in 1968, artist Niki de Saint Phalle started producing inflatable pool toys shaped like her exuberant Nanas.
Decorated in vividly bright colours and with a facsimile signature of the artist on the front, they were initially produced by Marlo Plastics, in New York, but in 1996 and 1999 Edition Flammarion relaunched a series of pieces by de Saint Phalle that also included her animals.
The original 1968 Nanas – conceived as ephemeral works, objects you could play with and have fun – appeared on the pages of Vogue: the magazine wrote about their energetic colour combinations highlighting how the Nanas came in different sizes – from "teddy bear to titanic" – and were sold at $4, $10 and $16.
Though revolutionary and perfectly embodying the ideals of Pop Art, the 1968 Nanas were not received warmly by the art world and de Saint Phalle was criticised for releasing items dismissed as "commercial products".
The artist ignored the complaints, though, since the more commercial products in her career including jewellery pieces and a perfume, helped her raising money for more monumental projects (like her Tarot Garden).
If you calculate the value of $16.00 in 1968, you will realise that this sum had the same buying power as $116.35 in 2018; which means the most expensive inflatable Nana was slightly cheaper than the current trendy versions of some of the modern inflatables on the market today (the Missioni x Funboy raft retails for $148).
This is to say that price is not the main difference between early arty inflatables and modern ones. It is clear that one of the most considerable differences is probably the technology behind the pieces, as nowadays you can have lighter yet more resistant inflatable items, and therefore come up with more extravagant and larger shapes, but maybe the most significant difference is the final reaction.
Niki de Saint Phalle was indeed criticised for her inflatables, but, if she had launched them nowadays, she would have easily ended up being celebrated on Instagram.
Thinking of astonishing your followers with an arty vintage inflatable? Well, Niki de Saint Phalle's sometimes resurface at auctions or on eBay, and some of them were even sold for $700-$750. Looks like branching out into the world of arty floats for the artist was further proof that she was genuinely ahead of her time.
