After Vitra had to discontinue production of the Eames fibreglass chair in the 1990s, an alternative was found in the form of the plastic chairs made of polypropylene, which did not appeal to everyone. Without the vibrancy and structure of fibreglass, the Eames chairs had lost some of their character. Since 2018, the fibreglass chairs have been back with a new processing method - and in their former beauty!

Vitra is launching the Eames Fibreglass Side Chair with La Fonda base as a limited edition, in which the seat shell by Charles and Ray Eames is fitted with cushions made of Toostripe fabric by Alexander Girard. The chair is available in two colour versions of 250 pieces each.

The history of the Eames Plastic Chairs

One of the Eames Plastic Chairs, the DAW chair, was presented for the first time in 1948 as part of the "Low Cost Furniture Design" competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it won second place. Today, the Plastic Chairs have become classics that have become an integral part of private homes and public spaces. And yet the design chairs were a real novelty at the time they were created. The idea of a one-piece seat shell moulded to fit the body was new.

"The most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least" - Charles & Ray Eames absolutely lived up to this claim with the Plastic Chairs. The result was the first mass-produced, affordable plastic chairs with an outstanding design. With the Plastic Chairs, Charles & Ray Eames revolutionised the history of furniture in the 1950s. After the war years, society in Europe and the USA was in a state of upheaval. This also had an impact on furnishings and lifestyle. With the DAW and the other Plastic Chairs, Charles & Ray Eames made their contribution to liberating the living space from the prevalent control.

From America to Europe

In the early 1940s, the Plastic Chairs were produced in the USA by Herman Miller. The design chairs made their way across the pond to Europe in the early 1950s when Erika and Willi Fehlbaum saw an Eames chair in a shop window during their trip to the USA. Inspired by the design of the plastic chair, the Vitra founders negotiated a licence to sell the Eames Plastic Chairs in Europe. Ultimately, their efforts were successful and Vitra became the licensed manufacturer of the chairs in Europe and Asia.

To this day, Vitra is the only licensed manufacturer for this sales region. Charles & Ray Eames maintained a close relationship with Vitra throughout their lives. This is also reflected in the fact that Vitra is in possession of their estate in the form of the Eames Archive. Even today, after the death of the designer couple, Vitra still endeavours to act in their spirit and always asks itself the question: "What would Charles & Ray Eames say about this?" when further developing collections.

Charles and Ray Eames - design duo

If you love design, you should know the Eames. For many, it immediately brings to mind their most famous designs, the Eames Lounge Chair or the Eames Plastic Chair. The Eames couple are among the most important personalities in the field of design in the 20th century. In addition to designing furniture, they also made films, took photographs and put together exhibitions.

Material and format

From January 2024, Vitra will be focussing on sustainability by making all seat shells for the Eames Plastic Chairs from recycled post-consumer plastic. The seat shells will have minimal glass fibre reinforcement for stability and quality, with the glass fibre content of an Eames Plastic Chair RE seat shell being 10%. The use of recycled packaging waste gives the seat shells minimal colour pigmentation. The La Fonda base is made of polished die-cast aluminium.

The design chair is 47.5 cm wide, 35.5 cm deep and 82 cm high. The seat height of 43 cm was only introduced in 2015, as the average height of the world's population has increased since the Eames Plastic Chairs were created. The following therefore applies to repeat orders: If you purchased your chairs before 2015, they will correspond to the seat height of 41.5 cm.

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Product number:	VITRA 44041200 03 72
Manufacturer	Vitra
Designer	Charles & Ray Eames
Shipping method	Forwarding agent
Material	Fibreglass, Toastripe Maharam fabric
Width (cm)	47.5
Depth (cm)	55
Height (cm)	82
Seating height (cm)	43