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When Verner Panton started his career
in the 1950s, Functionalism, a movement
that had started out as avant-garde in
the first decades of the 20th century,
had become mainstream. Dogmatic,
rather harsh rules became synonymous
with Functionalism in design and archi-
tecture. The most powerful one – ”form
follows function” – goes back to Louis
Sullivan. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe later
added his influential ”less is more,” and
Adolf Loos even equated the use of
ornament with crime. So, was there any
space for fun in Functionalism? Perhaps
not, many certainly denied it. None-
theless, a small number of mid-century
designers started to test the Function-
alist rules and formal limitations by
giving their creations a clear playful and
humorous twist.
Young Verner Panton was one of those.
By the end of the 1950s, he presented
his famous Plus-linje collection, with
the Cone and Heart Cone Chair as its
centrepieces. He surprised the design
world with unusual shapes and new
materials. He impressed with his fresh,
playful, and witty approach. He proved
that fun and function do not exclude
one another, and he promoted the idea
that fun should be understood as part
of function.
A couple of years later, an unusual com-
mission gave him the opportunity to take
the next step. The German furniture brand
Kill, little known but very ambitious,
approached Panton and asked if he
would be willing to create their exhibi-
tion for the Cologne Furniture Fair,
an influential event in the industry.
The briefing was as short as it was
challenging: ”Make us famous!” And
Panton delivered. He created – totally
unconventional at that time – chairs
and seating without legs, today known
as the Easy Chair, Easy Sofa, and Easy
Pouf, and he invented the iconic Flying
Chairs. Kill’s stand was the sensation of
the fair in 1964. In Germany alone, more
than 300 newspapers reported about
the radical concept of the Flying Chairs.
Many people thought that the designs
were over the top, too crazy. But they
liked to look at them, and furthermore,
they liked to sit in them. Sitting, lying,
or lounging on a Flying Chair, gave a
new perspective on a space because it
was fun – simply and undeniably.
60 years after they first were presented,
the Flying Chairs and the Easy Series
do not necessarily feel sensational.
Yet, these pieces still stand out. And most
importantly, the fun that comes with
them is as fresh and strong as ever.
Mathias Remmele is a journalist, writer and curator
specializing in design and architecture.
Form Follows Fun
Manifesto by Mathias Remmele
