Designed by Charles and Ray Eames out of welded steel wire, the Wire Chair is a variation on the theme of the organically shaped one-piece seat shell, combining transparent lightness with technological sophistication.
Image source: https://cwcinteriors.com.ph/product/eames-wire-chairs-and-stools/
In the 1950s, Charles and Ray started experimenting in bent and welded wire. Inspired by trays, dress forms, and baskets, the Eames Office developed a number of pieces, including the wire version of the single-shell form. The Wire Chairs are available exclusively from our two partners, Herman Miller and Vitra. Those by Vitra are either chrome plated or with a powder-coated finish well-suited for outdoor use.
Concept
Perhaps more than any design in their oeuvre, the shell chair represents Eames’ disinterest in superficial aesthetics and their agnostic approach to material. What mattered most to them was the integrity of the form, function, and context—or as Charles often said:
The best for the most for the least.
It’s this attitude that pushed them to explore the shell chair in a variety of finishes, materials, and base configurations.
The Eames Wire Chair is a unique iteration in the shell chair’s continuous evolution. In the 1950s, the Eames Office started experimenting in bent and welded wire. Inspired by trays, dress forms, and baskets, the team developed a number of pieces, including the wire version of the single-shell form. The Eames Wire Chair comes with a wire base and an optional full-piece leather seat pad or crisscross, two-piece “bikini” pad; both versions are available in a variety of colors.
Image source: https://cwcinteriors.com.ph/product/eames-wire-chairs-and-stools/
Charles Eames famously said:
The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.
With the molded plastic, fiberglass, and wood shell chairs—as well as the wire chair—the Eames have created a universal response to what everyone wants from a chair: a simple, gracious form that fits any body and every place. The chair was designed on the principle of adaptability, offering innumerable configurations to serve a wide variety of applications and environments. It’s what makes the chair a classic worthy of museum collections—and living rooms, Laundromats, lobbies, and cafés.
Historical context
The furniture designs the Eames’s are rooted in the functionalism of American modernism of the postwar period. Charles and Ray Eames developed a clear, functional designs, such as the Plastic Chairs that precisely matched to the needs the people of their time, and often experimented with advanced production methods and new materials.
Image source: https://cwcinteriors.com.ph/product/eames-wire-chairs-and-stools/
With its unmistakable characteristics, the Eames Wire Chair DKR is not just aesthetically charming, but reminds us of the emergence in the 1950s of popular culture: a movement which in terms of furniture design brought decorative elements back to the forefront; with its cool, shiny steel wire and “lascivious” bikini shaped padding, the Vitra Wire Chair Bikini represents more than most other furniture objects the decadent pop culture of 1950s America.
Charles and Ray Eames
The two designers followed a succint, yet thoughtful philosophy:
The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr. (1907–1978) and Bernice Alexandra “Ray” Kaiser Eames (1912–1988) were an American design married couple who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture. Among their most well-known designs is the Eames Lounge Chair. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art, and film. Ray Kaiser Eames and Charles Eames worked together as creative partners.
Image source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/13550550@N08/5469598803 bypardonmeforasking
Ray and Charles Eames are among the key players in the history of the twentieth century design, and to this day their designs have lost none of their relevance. The Wire Chair was launched in 1951, shortly after the Plastic Chairs. Until the death of Charles Eames and the subsequent closure of the Eames Studios in 1978 many other designs were added to the Eames portfolio, designs which today are among the design icons of the 20th century.
Data Sheet
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1951
Manufacturer: Vitra, Herman Miller
Materials: Welded steel wire, chrome plated or powder coated
Dimensions: h.850mm x d.430mm x l.490mm
Info sources:
https://www.vitra.com/en-it/product/wire-chair
http://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/wire-chair/
https://www.hermanmiller.com/designers/eames/
https://www.smow.com/en/products/seating/dkr-wire-chair-new-height.html
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