Panton Chair
World's first moulded plastic chair, an icon of Danish design.
The Panton Chair (Danish: Pantonstolen) is a plastic, S-shaped chair designed by Verner Panton in the 1960s. It is recognized as the first chair ever moulded from a single piece of plastic and is considered a masterpiece of Danish design, earning a spot in the 2006 Danish Culture Canon.
The concept of a stackable plastic chair had been floated by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe before World War II. Panton himself had long dreamed of a one-piece, cantilevered plastic chair, reportedly inspired by a neat stack of plastic buckets. He created an early forerunner, the S Chair, in 1956, which first went into production in 1965. Throughout the 1950s, Panton made sketches for the Panton Chair, and in 1960 he produced a plaster-cast model with Dansk Akrylteknik. In the mid-1960s, he met Willi Fehlbaum of Vitra, who was intrigued by Panton’s drawings of a legless plastic chair—a departure from the wood favored at the time. Together, they developed a cold-pressed model in polyester reinforced with fibreglass, creating the first entire chair as a single, legless piece, dubbed a “free swinger.” This initial heavy model required extensive finishing, but it was later refined for industrial production using thermoplastic polystyrene, which cut costs. In 1968, Vitra began serial production of the final version, sold by Herman Miller, using Baydur, a high-resilience polyurethane foam from Bayer. It came in several colors.
Production stopped in 1979 because polystyrene proved insufficiently durable and aged poorly. Four years later, the chair returned as the Panton Chair Classic, made from pricier polyurethane structural foam. In 1999, Vitra switched to polypropylene for the Panton Plastic Chair, offering it in a range of colors.
Panton helped shape the sleek, “Space Age” Pop Art styles of the 1960s. The Panton Chair caused a stir when it debuted in the Danish design journal Mobilia in 1967. In 1970, the British fashion magazine Nova featured it in a photo series titled “How to undress in front of your husband.” Its most famous appearance came in January 1995, when it graced the cover of British Vogue in a Nick Knight photograph that also included a naked Kate Moss. The chair’s S-shaped design remains popular and has been recreated in materials like rattan, bamboo, and banana leaf.
Originally called Panton’s S Chair, it has been exhibited widely in Denmark and abroad. I
- designer
- Verner Panton
- nationality
- Danish
- field
- Furniture design
- known_for
- World's first moulded plastic chair
- year_introduced
- 1960s
- material
- Plastic (initially polyester with fibreglass, later polystyrene, polyurethane foam, polypropylene)
Lore & Background
The idea of a stackable plastic chair was first expressed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe before the Second World War. From the early 1950s, Verner Panton dreamed of creating a stackable, cantilevered plastic chair all in one piece, inspired by a neatly stacked pile of plastic buckets. In 1956, he designed the S Chair, a forerunner, which was first produced in 1965.
Panton made sketches and design drawings in the 1950s, and in 1960 created his first model, a plaster-cast, with Dansk Akrylteknik. In the mid-1960s, he met Willi Fehlbaum of Vitra, who was fascinated by his drawings of a legless plastic chair. Working together, they produced a cold-pressed model using polyester strengthened with fibreglass, the first entire chair designed as a single piece without legs, known as a free swinger. Serial production began in 1968 using Baydur, a polyurethane foam from Bayer, and the chair was sold by Herman Miller Furniture Company.
Production halted in 1979 because polystyrene proved insufficiently durable. In 1983, the Panton Chair Classic was produced in polyurethane structural foam. In 1999, Vitra used polypropylene for manufacturing the Panton Plastic Chair in a variety of colors.
Reader's Guide
The Panton Chair is significant as the world's first moulded plastic chair, marking a breakthrough in furniture design and industrial production. Its S-shaped, cantilevered form eliminated the need for legs, embodying the sleek, futuristic aesthetic of the 1960s Space Age and Pop Art. The chair caused a sensation when unveiled in the Danish design journal Mobilia in 1967 and gained further cultural cachet through appearances in fashion magazines, including a 1970 Nova spread and a 1995 British Vogue cover featuring Kate Moss. Its legacy endures in museum collections worldwide, including New York's Museum of Modern Art, London's Design Museum, Berlin's German Historical Museum, and Copenhagen's Danish Museum of Art & Design. The design has been reimagined in exotic materials such as rattan, bamboo, and banana leaf, demonstrating its lasting influence. The chair's inclusion in the 2006 Danish Culture Canon cements its status as a masterpiece of Danish design.
Did You Know?
- The Panton Chair was the world's first moulded plastic chair.
- Verner Panton was inspired to create the chair by a neatly stacked pile of plastic buckets.
- The chair was featured on the cover of British Vogue in January 1995 with a photograph by Nick Knight of a naked Kate Moss.
- Production was halted in 1979 because polystyrene was not sufficiently durable.
More in Danish inventions 1-21
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record