THE EVOLUTION OF AN ICON
How this timeless design has become a bestseller for two different brands
This chair is produced by two manufacturers: Knoll and Thonet. How come? Well, Breuer’s first tubular-steel furniture was produced by his own company, Standard-Möbel, which he co-founded in 1927; this was acquired by Thonet in 1929, which has produced the chair since 1930. Later, Breuer sold his designs to the Italian company, Gavina Group, which renamed its edition ‘Cesca’ after Breuer’s daughter Francesca. Gavina was acquired by Knoll in 1968, and since then, its licensed version and Thonet’s have coexisted peacefully.