The company was created in the fifties by Rolf’s father, Willi Felhbaum, and a few years after its foundation it acquired from Herman Miller the production rights in Europe of the George Nelson and the couple Charles & Ray Eames furnishings. Chairs like the Eames Plastic Chair, in its countless versions, and armchairs like the iconic Lounge Chair & Ottoman are still among the bestsellers in the Vitra catalog.

Few years later, the Panton Chair by the Danish designer Verner Panton enriched the wide range of Vitra chairs. It was the first all-plastic cantilever chair ever created. The artistic management of Rolf Fehlbaum led to a further expansion of the company’s ambitions, with the new Vitra Campus production center where over the years architects such as Frank O. Ghery, Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid collaborated.

Now, Vitra production is concentrated in two major segments: the one for the home, centered on chairs, sofas and armchairs, has found new lifeblood thanks to the collaboration with Antonio Citterio who led the company to the creation of the Grand Repos armchair. The sector for office chairs and common spaces also remains at the top in Europe for its design quality, enriched by many collaborations with international designers such as Werner Aisslinger and Alberto Meda.