Vitra
Vitra
Est. 1950
About
Vitra is a Swiss furniture company that produces furniture and interior products for homes, offices and public spaces, and is closely associated with twentieth-century design classics. Its headquarters are in Birsfelden, near Basel, Switzerland, and it operates a well-known production and architecture campus in Weil am Rhein, just across the German border, which is also home to the Vitra Design Museum. It is a family-owned company. The company was founded in 1950 by Willi and Erika Fehlbaum and has remained under the control of the Fehlbaum family, with Nora Fehlbaum, a third-generation family member, serving as chief executive since 2014. Originally a shopfitting business near Basel, the company moved into furniture manufacturing in the 1950s, and the name Vitra was introduced as the business developed. A defining moment came after Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of the American designers Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson in the early 1950s. The company negotiated with Herman Miller to manufacture and distribute these designs in Europe, beginning production in 1957, and the relationship to these mid-century designs became central to Vitra's identity. In 1967 the company introduced the Panton Chair by Verner Panton, an early single-material plastic cantilever chair. Vitra develops products both as licensed reissues of design classics — including Eames and Nelson pieces for the European market — and through collaborations with contemporary designers across office and home furniture. Alongside its products, the company is known for its architectural campus in Weil am Rhein, with buildings by leading architects, and for the Vitra Design Museum, which operates as an independent design museum. Vitra's furniture is used in residential, office and public settings and is sold internationally through Vitra showrooms, dealers and design retailers. As a family-owned Swiss company tied to the production of mid-century and contemporary design, Vitra spans home and workplace furniture with a strong design-historical identity.
Specifications
- Categories
- homeofficehospitality
- Price Range
- $$$
- Founded
- 1950
- Headquarters
- Birsfelden, Switzerland
- Certifications
- EPDGREENGUARD
Resources
Common Questions
Vitra is headquartered in Birsfelden, near Basel, Switzerland, and operates a production and architecture campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, home to the Vitra Design Museum. It sells internationally through showrooms, dealers and design retailers. Its furniture is used in homes, offices and public spaces.
Vitra was founded in 1950 by Willi and Erika Fehlbaum in the Basel area of Switzerland. It has remained family-owned, with third-generation family member Nora Fehlbaum as chief executive since 2014. The company moved from shopfitting into furniture manufacturing in the 1950s.
Vitra is known for producing twentieth-century design classics and contemporary furniture for home and office. It manufactures designs by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for the European market, having begun production under agreement with Herman Miller in 1957, and introduced the Panton Chair by Verner Panton in 1967. It is also known for the Vitra Design Museum and its architectural campus.
Vitra is a family-owned Swiss company, controlled by the Fehlbaum family since its founding in 1950, with Nora Fehlbaum as chief executive since 2014. It is not part of a larger group. It is headquartered in Birsfelden, Switzerland.
Vitra products are sold internationally through Vitra showrooms, dealers and design retailers, for residential, office and public use. Buyers typically purchase through these official channels. furniture.directory is an independent directory and does not sell furniture directly.