One of the world’s most instantly recognized modernist designs, the Series 7 chair by Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen has been an icon since its 1955 debut. In continuous production for over 65 years, the pressure-moulded veneer seat remains a top-seller for the Danish furniture maker, and a recently introduced palette of 16 hand-picked colourways offers more freedom for personalization of this much-loved seat. 

The first instalment in an ongoing initiative titled A Sense of Colour, the new hue options are the result of a collaboration with Italian design curator, editor and gallerist Carla Sozzani. To conceive the chosen palette, Sozzani hosted the Fritz Hansen team at her Milan studio where, over the course of several workshops, they whittled a vast amount of options down to the 16 presented in the portfolio. While the colours are individually unique, they are also complementary — to each other and to the chair’s natural wood veneer — sharing a common “red thread.” As Fritz Hansen puts it: “One of the primary goals was to create a collection united by a warm tone; this was achieved by every colour having a splash of red.” 

Inspired by the natural world, the shades also explore the relationship between light and shadow. “From the dark green and blue of shifting waves and sky, to the pinks and ochres of small shells and a fading seashore in twilight, the palette came naturally as I explored the essence of daylight and its partner: night, to capture the essence of our shared colour harmonies,” says Sozzani of the process. 

Along with the 16 shades for the shell – which range from pinks and yellows to blues, greens, greys and, of course, reds – coordinating front-upholstery textiles and seven new base tones were also created. “We worked with a tone-in-tone approach for this project, creating a calm and inviting expression,” the Fritz Hansen team says of the undertaking. The new base options include chromed steel or powder-coated Warm Graphite, Brown Bronze, Silver Grey, Black, White and Nine Grey, each of which adds a fresh dimension to the long-favoured design. Now part of the permanent collection, the colourways are also available for the Ant and Grand Prix seating series.  

Next year, Fritz Hansen will be celebrating its 150th anniversary and will mark the occasion by (among other endeavours) evolving A Sense of Colour through partnerships with other designers.