Eames Shell Chairs

Eames Shell Chairs

Vitra Plastic Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames in their new colours

The Eames Shell Chairs first appeared in 1948 as the Eames Fiberglass Chairs, before they were launched in 1950 as the first series-produced chairs with a plastic shell. With the innovative design Charles and Ray Eames met the changing needs of society and also developed one of the most important furniture designs of the 20th century. The Shell Chairs' legendary success story originally began in 1948 when the Eames submitted a chair with shell made of stamped metal to the "International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design" competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; however, this turned out to be too expensive to produce and so decision was made to use fiberglass, a decision in line with the Eames' credo "to get the best to the most for the least". The focus was on the industrial manufacture of a chair with a continuous seat that should follow the contours of the human body. The result was enthusiastic: The practical, easy-care, light and yet robust dining chair received positive media attention from its launch in 1950 and was a commercial success. What was initially only planned for the living area also worked excellently in public areas, so that the Eames Chairs were almost everywhere. Over the years, demand stagnated due to strong competition from cheaper chairs and technical and ecological advances, so that production was temporarily stopped in the 1990s.

... outside a pleasure, too

Eames Plastic Chairs – From Fiberglass to Polypropylene

In 1998, the Eames chairs were reissued in close cooperation with the Eames estate, however this time with a seat shell made of polypropylene. At that time, the quality of the plastic had developed to such an extent that it was ideally suited as a replacement for the fiberglass that has become outdated asa a material. The new Eames Plastic Chairs were very popular with design connoisseurs and lovers as well as with a broader audience and graced more and more private households, but also public areas such as cafes, waiting rooms or authorities. Before some 20 years later, the Eames Fiber Chairs made their comeback through Vitra, thanks in no small measure to the development of a more environmentally friendly production process. The Swiss manufacturer also introduced a take-back program, which means that the Vitra chairs can be properly recycled. Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies, fresh ideas for innovation and great attention to detail, the Eames Shell Chairs are still just as up-to-date and popular today as they were when they were created, and thanks to various colours, upholstery and bases, they are now available in over 100,000 configurations.

Colourful Eames Plastic Side Chairs

The Colour Spectrum

In close cooperation with the Eames family, represented by the Eames Office in Los Angeles, the Swiss manufacturer Vitra developed a new colour range for the design classics: Eames Plastic Chairs and Eames Fiberglass Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames. After an intensive review of the archive material, meticulous colour research and a comparison of different products, ten new seat shell colours were launched in mid-2019. The aim of the company is to use the 2019 colour update to fully exploit the possibilities of the available colour spectrum and to provide a contemporary response to the dynamically developing interior design area. The colour campaign is based on the motto "The Chair of a Century" and gives the Eames Plastic Chairs and Fiberglass Chairs a new, contemporary look while carefully considering the Eames designer heritage.

Eames Shell Chairs – the original comes from Vitra

With the so-called Eames Shell Chairs, Charles and Ray Eames landed a coup in modern furniture design history and established a multifunctional type of chair that was to fundamentally change chair design. Today only Vitra posses the legal and moral authority to produce the Eames Shell Chairs true to the original. The Swiss manufacturer is so closely linked to the development of the Eames Chairs that the chairs without Vitra are hard to imagine today, and vice versa. It was Shell Chairs made of fibreglass-reinforced polyester resin by Ray and Charles Eames that prompted Willi Fehlbaum to found a furniture company in 1953 and to seek production licenses for Eames furniture designs from Herman Miller. Since Vitra started the production as the only authorized European manufacturer in the late 1950s, the Shell Chairs have also been further developed and optimized in close cooperation with Ray and Charles Eames. The fact that Vitra has accompanied these developments over decades exactly in the sense of the designer couple is what makes an original Vitra Shell Chair today. The term "original" has nothing to do with the time when the first chairs were produced. What is decisive for this status is the close connection between the manufacturer and the designer. Vitra has long been looking for a suitable, environmentally friendly and recyclable substitute for fibreglass and launched the Eames Plastic Chairs made of polypropylene in 1999 in close cooperation with the Eames Office. Not that Vitra never gave up on the search for new production methods for fibreglass, which they found and the Shell Chairs are now once again available in fibreglass with the associated, unmistakable tactile and visual characteristics. The Eames Shell Chairs are part of the extended Vitra warranty for selected Vitra design classics.

Please click on the picture for detailed information about the New Vitra update Colors 2019 (ca. 2,9 MB)