More and more iconic: Vitra launches Panton Chair Duo

24 June 2022

In 1959, the Danish designer Verner Panton had a brilliant intuition: to imprint movement in the furniture which, par excellence, inspires static. Thus was born the Panton Chair, a sinuous and dynamic curve that generates a sculptural and comfortable chair, the undisputed icon of the 1900s. The production is the work of Vitra, a company that has been able to support the creativity of its designers by identifying the most suitable technical solutions, also accepting the challenge of this seat: produced in a single piece of rigid polyurethane foam.

Panton himself said that his project for a cantilever chair would never have seen the light if Vitra had not involved its technical department to find a production solution that would make it actually usable. Let’s not forget that at the time the processing of plastics was still in its infancy, especially in the furniture sector. Panton and Vitra were far-sighted and their courage, their vision, was rewarded by the success of the chair. Still among the absolute icons of design, the Panton Chair is characterized not only by its sinuous and recognizable shape but also by its colors. In full Vitra style, this chair comes in different color variations, each with its own identity and its own stage presence.

And today it is ready for a further evolution with the limited edition of 999 pieces to which Vitra has given the name of Panton Chair Duo. The Swiss company wanted to bring attention and pay homage to chromatic research, another important aspect of Verner Panton’s design research. The reference is in particular the Fantasy Landscape he created in 1970 for the Visiona 2 installation at the Cologne furniture fair. The surprising installation was as a forerunner of today’s immersive experiences: an almost psychedelic scenario, a succession of environments with organic architectural forms in which one was enveloped by colors and visual suggestions.

A multisensory experience that Panton himself commented: “When we create an environment, color planning is of vital importance. It is not enough to say that red is red and blue is blue. I myself usually work with parallel colors, whose shades follow one another in the spectrum. So I can control the color temperature in the room and thus create a certain mood.”

Visiona 2’s concept of parallel colors returns in the Panton Chair Duo designed by Vitra in five color combinations in which two by two are combined with purple, green, red, pink, blue and orange. The dividing line between the two colors also marks the profile of the seat, underlining the link between formal research and Verner Panton’s approach to color.

The Panton Chair Duo was conceived in close collaboration with the Panton family and the result is a series of collection and living seats, perfect as sculptures, wonderful to combine together.

To enhance this classic, Vitra has chosen solid colors with a strong character and has taken a further step forward by identifying equally courageous combinations: Purplish Blue / Purple Violet; Pine Green / Purplish Blue; Purple Violet / Pink Magenta; Pink Magenta / Pink Classic Red and Pink Classic Red / Bright Orange. Trendy but also timeless colors, perfect and surprising combinations that visually evoke Panton’s aesthetic imagery. Elegant and ironic, lively and sophisticated, these chairs fit perfectly into today’s interiors where stylistic experimentation goes hand in hand with the desire for a unique and iconic piece that makes everyday life special and gives value to the furnishing project.

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