Some pieces of furniture look so self-evident after decades that you forget how radical they once were. An armchair made of bent tubular steel, a chair on a single pedestal, a cantilever chair made in one piece: each of these designs gave a fresh answer to a question. The following icons show how material, technology and the spirit of an era come together in a single piece of furniture.
What makes a classic
A classic is more than an old design that sells well. Usually three things come together: a technical or formal innovation, a form that remains convincing even when detached from its time, and production that has been carefully maintained over decades. Many classics are still made today by licensed manufacturers who have obtained the rights from the designers or their heirs.
One of the earliest ancestors is considered to be Chair No. 14 by Michael Thonet, dating from 1859. It consisted of just a few pieces of bent beech wood, was shipped disassembled and only screwed together at its destination: 36 chairs fitted into a crate of one cubic metre. This established the principle of industrially manufactured furniture in large series, on which the modernism of the 20th century also builds.
| Design | Designer | Year | First manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wassily Chair (B3) | Marcel Breuer | 1925/26 | Standard-Möbel Lengyel & Co., Berlin |
| LC4 chaise longue | Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand | 1928 | Thonet (from 1930) |
| Barcelona Chair | Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Lilly Reich | 1929 | Berliner Metallgewerbe Josef Müller |
| Butterfly Chair (BKF) | Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan, Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy | 1938 | series production in the USA, Knoll from 1947 |
| Wishbone Chair (CH24) | Hans J. Wegner | 1949 | Carl Hansen & Søn |
| Eames Lounge Chair | Charles and Ray Eames | 1956 | Herman Miller |
| Tulip Chair | Eero Saarinen | 1955/56 | Knoll |
| Egg Chair | Arne Jacobsen | 1958 | Fritz Hansen |
| Panton Chair | Verner Panton | presented in 1967 | Vitra, for Herman Miller |
| Acapulco Chair | unknown | 1950s | made by hand in Mexico |
Tubular steel and the avant-garde: 1925 to 1938
Wassily Chair
Marcel Breuer was running the carpentry workshop at the Bauhaus in Dessau when he designed the B3 club chair in 1925/26. As the story goes, the handlebars of his bicycle gave him the idea of building furniture from bent tubular steel. The chair was originally covered with iron yarn, a waxed and extremely tear-resistant cotton fabric. It was first made by Standard-Möbel in Berlin, and later by Thonet.
LC4
The LC4 chaise longue was created in 1928 in Le Corbusier's studio in collaboration with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, initially for the Villa Church in Ville-d'Avray. In 1929 it was shown at the Salon d'Automne in Paris. The reclining shell rests on its base frame in such a way that it can be shifted, so the angle can be changed without any mechanism. Cassina has produced the chaise longue since 1965.
Barcelona Chair
For the German Pavilion at the 1929 World Exhibition in Barcelona, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich designed an armchair intended to reflect the prestige of the occasion. Its frame of two crossed curves recalls the scissor chairs of antiquity. Today Knoll makes the Barcelona Chair; the logo and the architect's signature are stamped into the frame.
Butterfly Chair
In 1938, the architects Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy developed an armchair in Buenos Aires consisting of a bent steel frame with a sling cover hooked onto it. Their initials gave it the name BKF. The Museum of Modern Art in New York added it to its collection, and Knoll offered it from 1947. It has been copied countless times since.
Wood, shells and post-war optimism: 1949 to 1958
Wishbone Chair
Hans J. Wegner drew inspiration for the CH24 from Chinese chairs of the Ming dynasty. The Y-shaped backrest gave it its name. Carl Hansen & Søn has made the chair since 1950, and the paper cord seat is woven by hand.
Eames Lounge Chair
In 1956, Charles and Ray Eames combined shells of moulded plywood with leather cushions. Charles Eames wanted the chair to have the warm, inviting character of a well-worn baseball glove. Its first big appearance was on American television, on the NBC programme “Home”. It is made by Herman Miller, and for Europe by Vitra since 1957.
Tulip Chair
Eero Saarinen wanted to clear away the “slum of legs” beneath tables and chairs. His chair on a single pedestal was created in 1955/56 for Knoll. Because the technology of his day did not allow it to be cast in a single material, the shell is made of glass-fibre reinforced plastic and the base of cast aluminium, finished in a matching colour.
Egg Chair
Arne Jacobsen designed the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen down to the last detail. For its lobby he created the Egg Chair in 1958, a sheltering, upholstered shell on a swivel base. The Swan Chair came out of the same project. Both are made by Fritz Hansen.
Plastic and sunshine: Panton and Acapulco
Panton Chair
Verner Panton spent many years working on the idea of a chair made from a single piece of plastic, without legs in the conventional sense. From 1963 he developed it together with Vitra until it was ready for series production, and in 1967 the cantilever chair was shown in public for the first time. Vitra has produced the chair since 1990.
Acapulco Chair
The Acapulco Chair is the counterpoint to the icon with a famous designer's name attached. It turned up in Acapulco in the 1950s, and who designed it is not documented. Tales of a French holidaymaker who supposedly took hammocks as his model are regarded as legend. A steel frame strung with plastic cords, airy and light: it is a classic of outdoor living.
Classics today: licensing, care, combining
When you buy a classic, you also buy a story. Licensed manufacturers work to the original plans, mark their pieces and document any changes. How to recognise an original and what copyright law says about it is explained in the article Original or copy?
- Care: treat leather regularly with the product the manufacturer recommends; only wipe chrome-plated tubular steel with a damp cloth and then dry it.
- Light: protect aniline leather and natural coverings from direct midday sun.
- Combining: a classic makes the strongest impression when it is given space. A calm sofa, a natural-fibre rug and a stone table give it the right setting.
The Style Finder shows which classics suit the way you live.
