Vitra Desk Chair

Design house Vitra has garnered international recognition for more than 70 years — the Swiss family-owned furniture company has outfitted public spaces as well as residential properties and offices worldwide. It has been a proponent of modernist design since the 1950s. While the brand is heralded for its collaborations with mid-century modern icons such as Verner Panton, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and others, Vitra’s German campus is also home to buildings designed by legendary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Among them is the Vitra Design Museum, an independent cultural institution that displays two centuries of design today.

Vitra was established in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, in 1950 by husband and wife team Willi and Erika Fehlbaum. On a trip to New York several years later, Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of design polymaths Ray and Charles Eames in a furniture store and immediately knew that he had found his bliss.

In 1957, Vitra entered into a licensing agreement with Herman Miller, which saw the company producing designs by George Nelson, the Eameses and others. Later, Vitra partnered with Verner Panton and created the Panton chair, which was the first chair ever crafted from a single piece of molded plastic (it was also the first piece to be independently developed by Vitra). After 27 years of establishing the Vitra brand, the Fehlbaums passed control to their two sons, Rolf and Raymond Fehlbaum.

When a fire destroyed the factory in 1981, the brothers developed the Vitra Factory Campus, subsequently taking the opportunity to redirect the architectural landscape of the company. They created a masterplan with Nicholas Grimshaw, and together they erected four buildings in just a few short years.

In 1988, with the passing of Ray Eames and the disbandment of the Los Angeles Eames office, Rolf and Raymond acquired the furniture design portion of her estate, including the Eames prototypes and experimental models, housed today in the Vitra Design Museum.

Rolf and Roy opened the Vitra Design Museum in 1989. This began a period rich with design relationships, including collaborations with Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Maarten van Severen, Philippe Starck, Alberto Meda and others.

In 2012, leadership passed to Nora, the third generation of the Fehlbaums. Nora Fehlbaum has, like her grandparents, expanded the company and brought it into the 21st century with the acquisition of Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek. Nora has turned the company’s focus to sustainability yet still maintains its international and cultural relevance legacy.

Find a collection of Vitra lounge chairs, tables, side chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.

An essential part of every office or home workstation, office chairs and desk chairs are critically important to your comfort and getting the job done.

Desk chairs have evolved over time. While writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson pined for a wider range of motion and introduced some improvements to his English-style Windsor chair, inventing the swivel chair along the way. So the next time you roll, recline or swivel at your vintage desk, remember: The third president of the United States had a lot to do with that functionality.

Changes in the availability of resources have also led to innovations in desk chair design. After World War II, for example, optimistic American designers made use of wartime materials in their efforts to create practical domestic goods.

Mid-century modernism is the name given to the broad postwar time period that prioritized thoughtful design. Journalist Cara Greenberg, who coined the term “mid-century modernism,” cites “ergonomic wisdom” as part of the reason for the longevity of the era’s furnishings, and when it comes to sitting in a desk chair for hours at a time, what could be more important than ergonomic support?

As mid-century modernism was marked by resourcefulness and boundless creativity — and produced designers who, in most cases, prioritized comfort and support — it follows that all mid-century chairs are not the same. Nowhere is this perhaps more evident than at Herman Miller. The legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer got its start in the office, with design director George Nelson enlisting the likes of Charles and Ray Eames to produce desk chairs and lounge chairs that are still celebrated today. Elsewhere at the time, the numerous pieces Florence Knoll created for Knoll’s office furniture line were envisioned as design solutions for the changing needs of residential and office spaces.

If you’re working remotely and streamlined seating isn’t your thing, don’t be afraid of making a statement with your office chair. Introduce a touch of drama to your video calls by way of 19th-century desk accessories and the alluring forms we typically associate with antique desk chairs designed in the Empire and Regency styles. For a minimalist touch, a spare, utilitarian Industrial-style office chair can work in any space but will fit in particularly well amid the exposed brick and steel architecture that characterizes a loft apartment.

An inspiring home office cleverly mixes materials and styles to create a welcoming place of productivity and comfort, and if you’re gathering with colleagues at your company HQ, an array of wood, leather and metal office chairs can help integrate disparate textures in a conference room or any other collaborative space. On 1stDibs, explore a diverse collection of office and desk chairs today.