Vitra Home Stories
Eames Collection Update
World-famous Swiss manufacturer Vitra is synonymous with ground-breaking 20th Century design. A family business for over 80 years, the campus at Weil am Rhein, Germany, has grown to house the Vitra Design Museum by Frank Gehry amongst its numerous buildings by renowned architects. Today, in combining technical and conceptual expertise with the creativity of contemporary designers, Vitra seeks to continue pushing the boundaries of design. Each season, Vitra releases product updates and provides inspiration by showcasing fresh, unexpected ideas for the home. This season, Vitra has launched a major update to the Eames Collection, in close collaboration with the Eames family, to honour the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames, and to continue to develop their iconic designs as new needs and opportunities arise. The updates include new wood veneers for the Lounge Chair, new finish colours for the Soft Pad Group and Aluminium Group, new colour combinations for the Eames LTR table and Hang It All, the option of the La Fonda base for the Eames Plastic Chair Collection.
Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman
When Charles Eames was asked about the design process for the Lounge Chair: 'Did you think of the Eames chair in a flash?', he responded, 'Yes, it was a flash of inspiration... a kind of thirty-year flash'. By this, he meant that he and his wife Ray had channelled all the experience gained from their other ground-breaking designs into the development of the Lounge Chair.
True to the spirit of the Eameses, Vitra has now further refined many of the details of the Eames Lounge Chair Collection, drawing on decades of production experience and ensuring its sustainability for the future.
There are now six different veneer options to choose from for the wooden shells - with the exception of Santos Palisander, all the wood is now sourced across Europe. The composition of the inner layers of the veneer shells has also been revised with a view to sustainability and the surface is now treated with a water-based varnish instead of a polyurethane coating. The fabric and leather covers can be removed for cleaning or replacement.
Introductory offer
NEW - Calma mohair velvet
Made from 100% natural fibres, Calma's dense velvety virgin wool pile changes tone with the light, giving the fabric depth and a natural sheen. While the mohair velour is soft and supple to the touch, Calma is also hard-wearing, easy to clean and holds its shape. The colours complement perfectly the new wood veneer options of the Eames Lounge Chair.
Calma comes in a choice of six colours.
Special Offer: complimentary leather or fabric upgrade. Cannot be combined with any other discount.
2 sizes x 6 veneers x 3 bases x 43 cover leathers or fabrics x 2 glides = over 3,000 combinations
All the individual elements of the Lounge Chair and its Ottoman - wooden shells, covers and bases - can now be freely combined, creating an unprecedented level of customisation. If that's too much, a curated set of colour and material combinations is available: simply ask advice from our experienced team of consultants in store.
Eames Shell Chairs - La Fonda base
The concept behind the La Fonda base had already been developed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1948 for the Plastic Chairs presented in 1950. The final form took shape in 1960 when their friend, the designer and interior architect Alexander Girard, needed suitable chairs to furnish the La Fonda del Sol restaurant in the Time-Life Building in New York City.
With its central pedestal consisting of four parallel shafts that split at the bottom to form a four-star support, the La Fonda is one of the most elegant and unconventional bases ever created by the Eameses. Always striving to develop comprehensive design solutions, they added the new base frame to their already extensive collection of Shell Chairs.
To date, Vitra has only offered this base version for the DAL chair, and a limited edition fibreglass DSL. The La Fonda base is now available for the Eames Plastic Chair Collection and the Eames Wire Chair.
Aluminium Group and Soft Pad Group
Vitra has expanded the choice of colours for the powder coating option of the Aluminium and Soft Pad Groups: in addition to the existing black version, the new options of chalk and dark Bordeaux are offered. These hues are derived from the Eames colours of aubergine and parchment and create new configuration options for these ranges.
The Eames Aluminium Group chairs and Eames Soft Pad Group chairs are an exceptionally versatile system. Their construction is particularly durable thanks to their high-quality materials and it comes with a thirty-year warranty.
Eames Accessories
Vitra has revisited the colours and materials of the Eames Accessories collection to create new and unexpected combinations. The expanded Eames palette is as authentic as it is contemporary.
Charles and Ray Eames originally developed one neutral and one colourful palette for many of their designs. In this context, Vitra has supplemented or adapted the colour selection for various Eames products. Sky blue, sea foam green and red orange join the palette for the Eames LTR tables, while the Eames Hang It All is additionally available in new warm and cool colour combinations. The Plywood mobiles now come in ice grey and the Eames Elephants are offered in an expanded choice of woods, colours and materials. Chestnut has been added to the LTRs and Eames Stools to create lighter accents to otherwise dark woods.
Eames Hang It All
- Transition to walnut from Europe
- New colour variants: warm white, neutral, warm and cool tones, based on the Eames palette
- Transition to water-based lacquer for all
- The classic multicolour version is unaltered
Eames House Bird
- Transition to walnut from Europe
- Transition to ash for black variant
- New aesthetic: visible wood grain
- Transition to water-based lacquer for all
Eames Elephant
- New wood options: walnut and chestnut from Europe
- Transition to water-based lacquer
- Transition to 100% recycled post-industrial plastic
- Four new colours: emerald, sky blue, red orange, canary
Eames LTR Occasional Table
- Transition to European walnut, oiled finish
- New wood option: Chestnut, hard wax oil finish
- Three new colour options: jade/sea foam, dark brick/red orange, smoke blue/sky blue
- Stainless steel instead of chrome
- White base for white HPL and Chestnut
All of the updates to the Eames Collection are on display in store at Drury Lane, from Thursday 4 September 2025. Come along to experience these new materials, colours and finishes for yourself, and reacquaint yourself with some of the most important examples of Mid-Century Modern design.