In January of this year Vitsœ announced it had become the exclusive worldwide licensee of Dieter Rams’s complete collection of original furniture designs. Rams issued the following statement to accompany the announcement
“Vitsœ’s disciplined business practices and manufacturing intelligence are in true alignment with the values of my design. This makes Vitsœ the ideal partner to present my products worldwide and it is for this reason that I have given Vitsœ the licence to sell not only 606 Universal Shelving System but my complete portfolio of furniture designs in Germany and throughout the world.
“In addition, Vitsœ’s growing international presence and continued commitment to the constant improvement of my products ensure that my furniture is in the best hands for the years ahead.”
Last month, Vitsoe announced the relaunch of the 620 chair programme by Dieter Rams, announcing that it had comprehensively re-engineered Ram's chair. I have to confess that I always thought that the 620 was a single chair. I should have known better. The 620 programme is a rigorously designed flexible seating system. Like the 606 shelving system, which was designed in the same year, the chair is designed to be extendable and adaptable. The chair can be joined with other chairs to form a multi-seat sofa and it's castors can be swapped for a base that allows swivel articulation.
Dieter Rams famously produced 10 principles for good design, one of which is "Good Design is long lasting". The copyright protection that Vitsoe won in 1973 after the chair was copied in 1962, should ensure that the design and production values are not reduced by cheaper copies, as is sadly the case with so many other design classics, and the production run will continue long into the future.
All images taken from the Vitsoe website: https://www.vitsoe.com/gb
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