EXTRAORDINARY DESIGN

Meanwhile Denmark was late to industrialise, preferring the traditional handicrafts. But in time this proved an advantage: Danish design with its use of natural materials, attention to detail and focus on craftsmanship turned out to be the perfect match for the tastes of the post-war era.

Danish furniture became extremely popular in the US during the post-war housing boom and developed into a major international brand in the following decades. Most important to the spread of Danish Modern was the Design in Scandinavia exhibition, which showed all over the US and Canada from 1954 to 1957. It played a key role in the success of Børge Mogensen’s Spoke-Back sofa and Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard Nielsen’s AX chair – both produced by Fritz Hansen.

And Fritz Hansen played a pivotal role in the Danish design breakthrough, working with the most influential designers of the day, including Hans J. Wegner, Børge Mogensen, Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen, Ole Wanscher, Magnus Stephensen, Arne Jacobsen, Edvard Thomsen, Kai Gottlob, and Verner Panton. It was a veritable melting pot, and the designs that resulted from these collaborations still stand today.

This period in design history is particularly well-known for the Bauhaus movement founded by architect Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany in 1919. Bauhaus would go on to influence the modern architecture development far beyond Germany’s borders. The concept behind Bauhaus was a radical new approach to design thinking: “form follows function” – a theory that put function on an equal footing with design.

Deeply influenced by the aesthetics and principles of the Bauhaus, Fritz Hansen's collaboration with foreign designers and architects produced beautiful and timely pieces to great commercial success that reflected the popular Bauhaus style of the time. One notable collaboration with Mart Stam (the architect widely credited as the inventor of the cantilever chair form) produced a chair featuring a solid wood frame, steel and rattan for Fritz Hansen.

It was in the 1970s that the collaboration with Fritz Hansen came of-age. During this time, Panton introduced the Pantonova Series of sculptural chairs in different heights, as well as a chaise lounge and a table. These chairs weren’t successful, but Fritz Hansen wasn’t going to let that slow them down.

In 1974, Panton proved Fritz Hansen’s ongoing belief in his work correct with his System 1-2-3. The series, three years in the making, is made up of innovative, curvy chairs designed to meet every sitting need you could possibly imagine, and probably a few more, too.

Moving into the 1980s, the Wire Cone chair of that period exemplifies the strength of Fritz Hansen and Panton’s partnership. At first, it was hard to make and, to be honest, even harder to sit on. In 1988, Fritz Hansen was able to reduce the cost of production considerably. From then on, the chair was constructed from one piece that was then welded to the crossing metal pieces. Great design met its match with great production, and the result was a much more comfortable and easy-to-produce chair.

Verner Panton’s history with Fritz Hansen had its peaks and valleys, but Fritz Hansen’s ability to think long-term and believe in innovative design led to a long and fruitful collaboration. The partnership produced some of the most exciting furniture of the 1970s, including items still considered design icons today.