Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair

The Wassily Chair occupies a very special place in our hearts here at Aram. Zeev Aram was the first to introduce the chair to the UK market in 1964, and it was the first item sold when Aram Designs Ltd first opened its doors at 57 Kings Road that year. We chose it as the design with which to celebrate our sixtieth anniversary in 2024 by creating a special limited edition, made exclusively for us by Knoll International.

Born in Hungary in 1902, Marcel Breuer was first a student at the Bauhaus, and then head of its cabinet-making workshop after his talents were recognised by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. In 1925, Breuer had bought an Adler bicycle to get around the Desau campus and was impressed by the light weight of its frame. This led him to experiment with seamless tubular steel for furniture designs. Thus the chair initially known as Model B3 was born, which was manufactured by Thonet until World War II.

Also teaching at the Bauhaus in the 1920s was Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky. Expressing his admiration for the Model B3, Breuer made a version for Kandinsky's personal quarters. But the chair did not become known as the 'Wassily' until decades later, when Italian manufacturer Dino Gavina re-issued the design in the early 1960s and gave it that name.

Knoll acquired Gavina SpA in 1968 and thus gained the rights to many of Marcel Breuer's designs, including the Wassily Lounge Chair. Produced with a chromed tubular steel frame for many years, the chair is now available in an onyx or white ultra matt finish. It can be combined with slings in a wide range of belting leathers, cowhide or haired hide. It is as timeless today as it was in 1925.

To celebrate one of our favourite designs, we are pleased to offer 15% off the Wassily Lounge Chair from 15 October to 15 November 2026. Tri-colour haired hide, black cowhide, and belting leather in cognac or black on chrome frames will be available from stock.