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Eames Plastic Side Chair RE DSW
Eames Plastic Armchair RE DAW
Eames Plastic Side Chair RE DSR
Eames Plastic Armchair RE RAR
Eames Plastic Armchair RE DAR
Eames Plastic Side Chair RE DSX
Eames Plastic Armchair RE PACC
Eames Plastic Armchair RE DAX
Eames Plastic Side Chair RE DSS
Eames Plastic Side Chair RE PSCC
Eames Plastic Armchair RE DAL
Eames Plastic Side Chair RE DSR Duotone
Eames Fiberglass Chair DSX
Eames Fiberglass Armchair DAR
Wire Chair DKX
Eames Fiberglass Armchair DAW
Eames Fiberglass Chair DSR
Wire Chair DKR Checker
DSW Promotion Set of 4
Offer
Eames Plastic Armchair RE LAR
Wire Chair DKR
Eames Plastic Side Chair RE LSR
Wire Chair DKW
Eames Fiberglass Chair DSW
Eames Fiberglass Armchair RAR
RAR with Upholstery
Eames Fiberglass Armchair DAX
Eames Fiberglass Armchair LAR

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


Dining room outside ...


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


Great combination with the Wire Chair


Eames DSR Chair

Eames Plastic Chair DSX


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.


Neutral Tones

Subtle whites meet elegant shades of grey, and bringa a reserved, classic, atmosphere to the living area.


Mid Tones

The Mid Tones form the centre of the new Eames colour palette. They are more colourful, moving from blue to green to warmer orange, but still move in a serene spectrum.


Bright Tones

Those more courageous in your colours you will find their partner in the group of Bright Tones - making a clear statement with strong, bright colours.



The Eames Plastic Chairs from Vitra are now available in numerous new colours


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.


Thanks to the new colour palette, the Eames Plastic Chairs and the Eames Fiberglass Chairs can be harmoniously combined


Eames RAR rocking chair with and without upholstery

Eames Fiberglass Chair DSW


Eames Plastic Chair DSW in reserved tones

Vitra chair DSX in pale rose


Eames Plastic Chairs from Vitra with a white base


The upholstered Eames Plastic Chairs are also available in many new colour combinations


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




The Vitra Eames Shell Chairs: An Overview

Eames Plastic Chairs

Vitra Eames DSR
Dining Height Side Chair Rod Base

Vitra Eames DSR

Vitra Eames DSX
Dining Height Side Chair X-Base

Vitra Eames DSX

Vitra Eames DSW
Dining Height Side Chair Wood Base

Vitra Eames DSW

Vitra Eames PSCC
Pivot Side Chair Cast Base on Castors

Vitra Eames PSCC

Vitra Eames DSS-N / DSS
Dining Height Side Chair Stacking Base

Vitra Eames DSS-N / DSS

Vitra Eames DAR
Dining Height Armchair Rod Base

Vitra Eames DAR

Vitra Eames DAX
Dining Height Armchair X-Base

Vitra Eames DAX

Vitra Eames DAW
Dining Height Armchair Wooden Base

Vitra Eames DAW

Vitra Eames PACC
Pivot Armchair Cast Base on Castors

Vitra Eames PACC

Vitra Eames RAR
Rocking Armchair Rod Base

Vitra Eames RAR

Vitra Eames LAR
Lounge Height Armchair Rod Base

Vitra Eames LAR

Vitra Eames DAL
Dining Height Armchair La Fonda Base

Vitra Eames LAR

Eames Fiber Chairs

Vitra DSR Fiberglass
Dining Height Side Chair Rod Base

Vitra DSR Fiberglass

Vitra DSX Fiberglass
Dining Height Side Chair X-Base

Vitra DSX Fiberglass

Vitra DSW Fiberglass
Dining Height Side Chair Wood Base

Vitra DSW Fiberglass

Vitra DAR Fiberglass
Dining Height Armchair Rod Base

Vitra DAR Fiberglass

Vitra DAX Fiberglass
Dining Height Armchair X-Base

Vitra DAX Fiberglass

Vitra DAW Fiberglass
Dining Height Armchair Wooden Base

Vitra DAW Fiberglass

Vitra RAR Fiberglass
Rocking Armchair Rod Base

Vitra RAR Fiberglass

Vitra LAR Fiberglass
Lounge Height Armchair Rod Base

Vitra LAR Fiberglass

Eames Wire Chairs

Vitra DKR Wire Chair
Dining Height K-Wire Shell R-Wire Base

Vitra Eames DKR Wire Chair

Vitra Eames DKX Wire Chair
Dining Height K-Wire Shell X-Base

Vitra Eames DKX Wire Chair

Vitra Eames DKW Wire Chair
Dining Height K-Wire Shell Wood Base

Vitra Eames DKW Wire Chair

Vitra Eames DKR Wire Chair Checker
Dining Height K-Wire Shell R-Wire Base

Vitra Eames DKR Wire Chair Checker



More about 'Vitra', 'Eames' in our blog

The Historia Supellexalis: "V" for Vitra

...Vitra A Fehlbaum; A Campus; A Commonwealth According to the Sagas of the Dolls of Wood, that most authoritative account of the early (hi)story of the Commonwealth of Vitra, the contemporary Vitronians trace their origins back to a joining of forces of the Graeter, a Basel based people whose primary trade was the creation of display systems for shops and shop windows, and the Birsfelden Fehlbaum, a primarily office based people at that time under the guidance of a Willi and an Erika; a Willi and an Erika Fehlbaum who not only assumed guidance over the newly united peoples but also instigated a slow expansion of the shop furniture of the Graeter to a collection of items of practical, everyday, use in and for houses, a, at that time, novel accommodation concept in the Basel/Birsfelden region... And a shift away from the Graeter's and Fehlbaum's traditional trades, and an expansion from the Graeter and Fehlbaum's native region, that saw Willi and Erika adopt the name 'Vitra' for the new, shared, dominion, a use of the nominative plural of the Latin vitrum, glass, that was a reminder of the display windows of the Graeter, a reminder of the mirrors and lightbulbs of the earliest joint Graeter Fehlbaum house products, a reminder of the work, and teachings, and lessons, of Hanstheo Baumann, and also a committent to the new transparency and openness demanded in the Europe of that age as it moved on from the terrible and debilitating and thoroughly avoidable World Wide War...

Tsuyoshi Tane: The Garden House in the Vitra Design Museum Gallery and on the Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein

...1 The exhibition Tsuyoshi Tane: The Garden House in the Vitra Design Museum Gallery, and the eponymous Garden House by Tsuyoshi Tane, the latest addition to the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, allow one to approach not only a better appreciation of Tane's positions but also to experience how they influence and inform his approach, his works, his architecture... For all that Vitra is popularly associated with Weil am Rhein, Germany, the company's origins are to be found just across the border in Switzerland, specifically in Birsfelden on the edge of Basel, the association with Weil am Rhein being first forged in the early 1950s, a period when Vitra was still, primarily, a shop-fitting company, if one taking its first, tentative, steps into domestic interiors alongside retail interiors...

The Historia Supellexalis: "S" for Switzerland

...Diaries which contain some of the most complete and detailed descriptions of Swiss society, and in which one also finds the earliest descriptions of the earliest (hi)story of the contemporary Switzerland, a, as Heidi records, nation constituted from a loosely bound collective, a cantonation, of ancient peoples, including, and amongst many, many others, the Röthlisberger, the Horgenglarus, the Usm, the Wohnbedarf, the Embru, or the Vitronians whose contemporary Commonwealth of Vitra was initially established across a number of fields on the banks of the river Birs in the north-western corner of the Toblerone cordillera... Yet it was, inarguably, the Vitronians, for all under the leadership of the benevolent Fehlbaum der Jüngere, who were the most active in terms of international exchange; not only cooperating with an American Miller by the name of Herman to introduce works and positions by the likes of, for example, Eames Office, I Samunoguchi, George Nel-son or Alexander Gi Rard into Switzerland, but also expanding the Commonwealth of Vitra to the neighbouring regions of Germany and from where they introduced the furniture of the American Miller Herman to the many peoples of Europe...

Eames Lighting Design... Or, A search for light in the Eames Universe...

...Wandering aimlessly through the digital Marcel Breuer Archive one afternoon, we stumbled across a letter dated July 25th 1950 from Peter M Fraser, one of Breuer's employees, to the Eames Office, enquiring about a lighting design by Charles and Ray that Breuer was interested in using in one of his architectural projects, and requesting... Eames lighting?...

An Eames Celebration @ The Vitra Design Museum

...With their 1997 exhibition The Work of Charles and Ray Eames the Vitra Design Museum staged one of the first major Charles and Ray Eames retrospectives Twenty years later they return to two of the 20th century's most important creatives with An Eames Celebration: less of Charles and Ray, and more of the diversity, depth and continuing relevance of their work... That it is 20 years since the Vitra Design Museum last dedicated an exhibition to Charles and Ray Eames shouldn't be taken as an indication in a lack of interest in the subject, far from it, as Museum Director Mateo Kries points out their collection of Eames prototypes and models is one of the cornerstones of the museum; much more the number of other possible themes combined with a desire to always explore the new meant it simply was never a consideration...

Orgatec Cologne 2014: Vitra

...Until that is one reaches the Vitra stand... The almost congenital attraction of Orgatec visitors to Vitra is unquestionably related to the high-calibre roster of international designers responsible for the Vitra office programme...

Orgatec 2012: An Interview with Vitra Chief Design Officer Eckart Maise

...In February 1991 the grand doyen of Italian design Ettore Sottsass approached Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum with a suggestion for a joint project looking at the nature and being of life and work in the office... Rolf Fehlbaum willingly agreed and together with Michele de Lucchi, Andrea Branzi and James Irvine, Sottsass and Vitra set off an exploratory journey: researching, considering, inventing as they went...


All 'Vitra', 'Eames' Posts