1980s Vintage Dieter Rams for Vitsoe 620 Red Leather and Black Two Seat Settee
About the Item
- Creator:Vitsoe (Manufacturer),Dieter Rams (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 25 in (63.5 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)Depth: 56 in (142.24 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:
Dieter Rams
German industrial designer Dieter Rams is revered for the pared-down, intuitive electronics and consumer goods he created for Braun — where he worked from 1955 to 1997, most of that time as chief design officer — and his timeless furniture for Vitsœ, a company with which he continues to collaborate today.
Less well known are Rams’s longstanding focus on sustainability and uneasy relationship with contemporary technology, even as Silicon Valley designers like Apple’s Jonathan Ive follow in his rational footsteps.
During Germany’s postwar rebuilding period, Rams and his team of designers at Braun, inspired by the Bauhaus and the Ulm School of Design, focused on extreme simplicity and usability while conceiving products with a modern, forward-looking appearance.
Among Rams’s most iconic designs is the SK 4 phonograph and radio, created in 1956, which had a compact white metal case topped by a revolutionary-at-the-time transparent Plexiglas lid that revealed simple gray controls inside (it was nicknamed Snow White’s Coffin). But it is the T3 portable radio, from 1958, that gets design aficionados most excited today: A white rectangular box with a perforated square for the speaker and a circular-dial control, it bears an unmistakable resemblance to Apple’s original iPod. (Many people also note that the iPhone’s calculator app looks remarkably similar to the Braun ET 66 calculator, with its circular color-coded buttons.)
In the late 1970s, Rams laid out his widely studied 10 principles for good design: It is innovative, makes a product useful, is aesthetic, makes a product understandable, is unobtrusive, is honest, is long lasting, is thorough down to the last detail, is environmentally friendly and is as little design as possible.
One of Rams’s principles that hasn’t translated to our contemporary era is his emphasis on longevity. “The time of thoughtless design and thoughtless consumption is over,” he said in 1976, stressing the need to conserve natural resources — even as he was busy designing plastic products.
Rams has also expressed reservations about how electronics have evolved in recent decades from tools for improving life to time-sucking obsessions. “Every time he crosses a street and sees people glued to their phones, he just can’t conceive of how we got to this point,” says filmmaker Gary Hustwit, whose feature-length documentary on Rams debuted in 2018. “I think he’s a little bit saddened by all this work they did in the fifties and sixties, which had a very idealistic point of view, being a stepping stone to where we are now, and the current lust for technology.”
If digital devices sometimes seem to be making life more complicated, Rams’s precept remains the same as always: “Back to purity, back to simplicity.”
Find vintage Dieter Rams furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lebanon, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- 1980s Tentazione Two-Seater Sofa / Settee by Mario Bellini for Cassina Model 685By Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is a Tentazione two-seater sofa, model 685, originally designed by Mario Bellini for Cassina in 1973. Its frame is made of steel, and the seat and back are formed from pliant mo...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- 1980s Mario Bellini for Cassina Black Leather Software Tilbury SofaBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is a circa 1980s production Tilbury three seat sofa (part of the Software collection), designed by Mario Bellini and produced by Cassina in Italy. This example is one of a few s...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Fabric, Plastic, Foam
- Lord Norman Foster Model 500 Black Leather 2 Seat Settee Sofa for Walter KnollBy Walter Knoll, Sir Norman FosterLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a very rare and unusual Walter Knoll 500 settee in black leather, designed by Lord Norman Foster, the renowned British architect. Two sofa...Category
2010s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- 2022 Florence Knoll Two Seat Settee / Loveseat Sofa in Green LeatherBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is a two-seater ‘Florence Knoll’ settee sofa, model 1205S2. The piece was originally designed by Florence Knoll in 1954. This example dates to 2022, and is upholstered in its or...Category
2010s American Modern Sofas
MaterialsSteel
- 1980s Eileen Gray "Lota" Sofa for ClassiCon in Black Leather and Lacquered WoodBy Eileen GrayLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is a “Lota” sofa, designed by Eileen Gray in 1924. This particular sofa was manufactured by ClassiCon in the 1980s, and bears a label with Gray’s signature. Gray designed the Lo...Category
Vintage 1980s French Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- 1994 Gunilla Allard for Lammhults Sweden Cinema Settee Two Seater Sofa FabricBy Gunilla Allard, LammhultsLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a Gunilla Allard for Lammhults of Sweden cinema settee, produced circa 1994. This is a terrific original example, which appears to have been reupholstered circa ea...Category
2010s Swedish Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Fabric
- Dieter Rams Cognac Leather Model 620 3-Seater Sofa for Vitsoe, 1980sBy Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in ABCOUDE, UTIconic sofa by Dieter Rams for Vitsoe. The black outer shell is made from a hot-pressed sheet-moulding compound, which is similar to, but stronger than fiberglass. Originally upholst...Category
Vintage 1970s Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Fiberglass
- 1st Gen Dieter Rams RZ620 Sofa for Vitsoe 1962By Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in Aachen, NWThis timeless iconic sofa was made in the early 60s by Vitsoe and designed by Dieter Rams. The sofa comes from the iconic RZ620 series and is a first generation example. The sofa i...Category
Vintage 1960s German Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- 60s 70s Dieter Rams for Vitsoe Armchair Program 620 Design Couch FabricBy Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in Neuenkirchen, NI60s 70s Dieter Rams for Vitsoe armchair program 620 design couch fabric Object: 2-seater sofa Manufacturer: Vitsoe Condition: good - vintage Age: around 1960-1970 Dime...Category
Vintage 1970s European Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Plastic
- 60s 70s Dieter Rams for Vitsoe Armchair Program 620 Design Couch Fabric ObjectBy Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in Neuenkirchen, NI60s 70s Dieter Rams for Vitsoe armchair program 620 design couch fabric Object: 2-seater sofa Manufacturer: Vitsoe Condition: good - vintage Age: around 1960-1970 Dime...Category
Vintage 1970s European Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Plastic
- Mid-Century Modern "620" Easy Chair by Dieter Rams for VitsoeBy Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in Doornspijk, NLThe seating system Dieter Rams designed in 1962 for Vitsoe is just as timeless as his famous Shelving System. The modular principle allows for extreme flexibility. This chair has b...Category
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Fiberglass
- Dieter Rams Lounge Chair + Ottoman Swivel Base by Vitsœ Leather 1962 MinimalBy Dieter Rams, VitsoeLocated in Munster, NRWLounge Chair + Ottoman from the chair program 620 - designed by Dieter Rams for Vitsoe, Germany in 1962. The pictured Lounge Chair and its Ottoman were purchased around 2000 and ha...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather