Panton Junior

The Panton Chair has always been a favourite of children. Kids like its bright, cheerful colours, the tactile smoothness of its curved shape, and the fact that you can not only climb on it, but also use it to make great caves and hiding places.

Verner Panton found it fascinating that children intuitively interpreted his chair not only as an object to sit on, but also as a plaything. Soon after mass production of the Panton Chair had begun, the designer considered the idea of producing a child-size version together with Vitra. Although Panton seriously pursued this plan, its realisation was prevented by exorbitant tooling costs. The market for children's furniture was still in its infancy, and the investment was considered too risky at the time.
This lack of consumer demand explains why there are relatively few designs in Verner Panton's oeuvre conceived specifically for children, despite the designer’s great personal interest. Even so, many of Panton's objects were very appealing to children due to their soft organic shapes, bright colours and playful character. Examples of this include Panton's Living Tower, or the huge domestic sculpture that was a dominant feature of the living room in his house in Basle. Children young and old quickly discovered, much to their delight, that these furnishings also served as excellent climbing landscapes.

Based on Panton's original intentions, and in consultation with Marianne Panton, Vitra is now introducing a children's version of the Panton Chair for the Vitra Home Collection. Identical in shape and materials to the regular model, the Panton Junior is about 25 percent smaller. This makes it an ideal chair for children in pre-school and primary grades.
The Panton Junior will also cause a stir with a colour palette that has been especially developed with children in mind. In addition to the four classic colours orange, red, white and black, the chair is also available in three new colours: pink, light blue and yellow-green.