International Style Seating
The International Style, a modernist movement within architecture and furniture design that was given its name by American architect Philip Johnson and historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock, was born during the 1920s and ’30s. It gained steam initially in Europe and then in the United States as a response to the first World War. Building projects associated with the movement, as well as vintage International Style chairs, tables and other furnishings, are minimal and pared back.
Pioneers of the International Style — architect Walter Gropius and his Bauhaus colleagues Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, De Stijl advocate and Dutch architect J.J.P. Oud and visionary designer Le Corbusier — stripped away decorative elements and placed considerable value on functionality and clean lines, integrating the use of industrial materials like steel, concrete and large sheets of glass in their work. Quite aptly, this mode of design and architectural style coincided with an era now known as the Machine Age and became a global symbol of modernism. The primary motive of its practitioners was to address the changing needs of a rapidly industrializing society, especially the demand for office complexes and apartments in large cities, through economical, technologically advanced, yet aesthetically pleasing designs for furniture and buildings.
“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep,” said Le Corbusier of the philosophy behind his practical modernist architecture.
The International Style’s designers and architects were inspired by the advantages afforded them by the era’s new technology and industrial machinery as well as state-of-the-art materials. Le Corbusier was fond of framing his buildings in steel but reinforced concrete made far more economic sense. He is probably most admired for the iconic private homes and commercial buildings that he designed or codesigned with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, which are spread across the world, from New York City to Paris to Chandigarh, India. Today, Breuer’s Wassily Lounge chair; the elegant LC series created by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand; and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair, crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich, are emblems of progressive modernist design and all make prominent use of tubular steel. Vintage originals are the prized cornerstone of collections.
“The International Style is probably the first fundamentally original and widely distributed style since the Gothic,” posited Johnson in the book that accompanied “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition,” an architectural show he cocurated with Hitchcock that featured the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra and others. While the term “International Style” had previously been circulating in Europe, when the show opened at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932, it yielded a much broader application of this important style of design.
Find International Style furniture on 1stDibs.
1980s American Vintage International Style Seating
Steel, Chrome
2010s American International Style Seating
Carrara Marble
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Wood
2010s French International Style Seating
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary French International Style Seating
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American International Style Seating
Steel, Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Seating
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Kenyan International Style Seating
Marble
2010s Italian International Style Seating
Metal
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Wood
1970s German Vintage International Style Seating
Fabric
2010s American International Style Seating
Steel
2010s Italian International Style Seating
Metal
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Plywood
2010s French International Style Seating
Wood
2010s Kenyan International Style Seating
Marble
Early 2000s Turkish International Style Seating
Leather, Oak, Walnut
20th Century Italian International Style Seating
Plywood
1980s American Vintage International Style Seating
Steel, Chrome
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Stainless Steel
2010s Belgian International Style Seating
Metal
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Steel
2010s Turkish International Style Seating
Leather, Oak, Walnut
2010s American International Style Seating
Velvet, Mahogany
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Leather
2010s American International Style Seating
Leather, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese International Style Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian International Style Seating
Velvet, Poplar
2010s Turkish International Style Seating
Leather, Oak, Walnut
1950s Czech Vintage International Style Seating
Metal
20th Century Italian International Style Seating
Wicker, Wood, Paint
1950s Czech Vintage International Style Seating
Metal
2010s Turkish International Style Seating
Leather, Oak, Walnut
2010s Brazilian International Style Seating
Upholstery
1990s French International Style Seating
Canvas
1950s French Vintage International Style Seating
Oak, Leather
1980s American Vintage International Style Seating
Steel, Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian International Style Seating
Chrome
2010s Philippine International Style Seating
Wicker
1990s American International Style Seating
Steel