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International Style Armchairs

INTERNATIONAL STYLE

The International Style, a modernist movement within architecture and furniture design that was given its name by American architect Philip Johnson and historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock, was born during the 1920s and ’30s. It gained steam initially in Europe and then in the United States as a response to the first World War. Building projects associated with the movement, as well as vintage International Style chairs, tables and other furnishings, are minimal and pared back. 

Pioneers of the International Style — architect Walter Gropius and his Bauhaus colleagues Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, De Stijl advocate and Dutch architect J.J.P. Oud and visionary designer Le Corbusier — stripped away decorative elements and placed considerable value on functionality and clean lines, integrating the use of industrial materials like steel, concrete and large sheets of glass in their work. Quite aptly, this mode of design and architectural style coincided with an era now known as the Machine Age and became a global symbol of modernism. The primary motive of its practitioners was to address the changing needs of a rapidly industrializing society, especially the demand for office complexes and apartments in large cities, through economical, technologically advanced, yet aesthetically pleasing designs for furniture and buildings. 

“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep,” said Le Corbusier of the philosophy behind his practical modernist architecture

The International Style’s designers and architects were inspired by the advantages afforded them by the era’s new technology and industrial machinery as well as state-of-the-art materials. Le Corbusier was fond of framing his buildings in steel but reinforced concrete made far more economic sense. He is probably most admired for the iconic private homes and commercial buildings that he designed or codesigned with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, which are spread across the world, from New York City to Paris to Chandigarh, India. Today, Breuer’s Wassily Lounge chair; the elegant LC series created by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand; and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair, crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich, are emblems of progressive modernist design and all make prominent use of tubular steel. Vintage originals are the prized cornerstone of collections.

“The International Style is probably the first fundamentally original and widely distributed style since the Gothic,” posited Johnson in the book that accompanied “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition,” an architectural show he cocurated with Hitchcock that featured the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra and others. While the term “International Style” had previously been circulating in Europe, when the show opened at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932, it yielded a much broader application of this important style of design. 

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Style: International Style
Chrome and Black Cesca Chair Designed by Marcel Breuer Made in Italy circa 1970s
Located in New York, NY
Chic Cesca arm chair, designed by Marcel Breuer. Iconic and timeless Bauhaus chair, still relevant to today’s interior spaces. This chair was produced ...
Category

Late 20th Century Italian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Chrome

Italian Armchair With ottoman Crocodile Leather Brown
Located in Long Island, NY
Italian Armchair , With Ottoman in Brown Leather Crocodile Made in Italy , The Finest Furniture. Beautiful And Rare Armchair and Ottoman .
Category

Early 2000s Italian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Leather

Italian Poltrona Armchair Hand Made Emerald Green Velvet
Located in Long Island, NY
Beautiful Armchair Poltrona In Emerald Velvet and Gold Fabric All Hand Made In Italy .
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Oak

Showtime Regal Chair
Located in Hollywood, FL
The Showtime veneer showcases an exquisite blend of rattan strips and coco twigs intricately woven together and adorned side by side. It is then delicately coated with a layer of res...
Category

2010s Philippine International Style Armchairs

Materials

Rattan, Coconut

Geraldo de Barros set of 4 brazilian Jacaranda circa 1960
Located in Rio De Janeiro, RJ
Incredible GERALDO DE BARROS original set of 4 armchairs in brazilian jacaranda circa 1960.
Category

1960s Brazilian Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Luisa Wicker Lounge Chair
Located in Hollywood, FL
Luisa, one of three fabulous new accent chairs from the ever-talented Vito Selma, is sensual and seductive. With an organic shape to guarantee comfort...
Category

2010s Philippine International Style Armchairs

Materials

Wicker

Ultra Glossy Red Lacquered Wooden Armchair Designed by Laura Gonzalez
Located in Paris, FR
Ultra glossy lacquered wooden armchairs inspired by the Classical Indian chairs of 19th century designed by Laura Gonzalez. Portuguese craftsmanship and Fabric "Medium in Love" by Fr...
Category

2010s French International Style Armchairs

Materials

Wood

Beaded Yoruba Chair
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Take a seat in a masterpiece of Yoruba craftsmanship with this captivating hand-beaded chair, adorned in a mesmerizing white and blue design that adds a touch of artistry to any space. Yoruba chairs have a rich history rooted in the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people of West Africa. They are known for their skilled craftsmanship and artistic traditions passed down through generations, resulting in beautifully handcrafted pieces like this white and blue hand-beaded chair. - 37"h, 25"w, 24"d, 14"h (seat height), 23"h (arm height) - White and blue floral arm chair...
Category

Mid-20th Century Nigerian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Glass

Showtime Royal Armchair
Located in Hollywood, FL
The Showtime veneer is a combination of rattan strips and coco twigs inlaid side by side, then covered with resin. Repeated sanding and more resin give this material a lustrous Finis...
Category

2010s Philippine International Style Armchairs

Materials

Rattan, Coconut

Bella Armchair Open Weave Leather
Located in Hollywood, FL
"Bella” is Italian for “beautiful” and this chair is truly that! Stable and comfortable, the intricate weave is done with leather and is available in several colors. The airy play of...
Category

2010s Philippine International Style Armchairs

Materials

Leather

Ari Geometric Armchair
Located in Hollywood, FL
The Ari Chair is a true work of artistry in woodworking, showcasing a complex yet elegant geometric design that is simply stunning. Crafted from countless pieces of wood and finished to a smooth silky patina, this chair is offered in a choice of natural or rich reddish-brown tones. For added comfort, the chair comes with a taupe cotton seat...
Category

2010s Philippine International Style Armchairs

Materials

Cotton, Wood

Bella Armchair
Located in Hollywood, FL
The Bella Chair lives up to its Italian name, which translates to "beautiful." This stunning piece of furniture not only boasts intricate leather weaving, but it also offers remarkab...
Category

2010s Philippine International Style Armchairs

Materials

Leather

Modern Italian Swivel Armchair in Statuario Rock Fabric, Bontempi Collection
Located in Titusville, PA
Harmony, discretion, softness, hospitality. There are endless references to describe this armchair designed by a line that follows itself gently, without ever stopping. A stressless ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Metal

Modern Italian Swivel Armchair in Herring Gourmet Fabric, Bontempi Collection
Located in Titusville, PA
Harmony, discretion, softness, hospitality. There are endless references to describe this armchair designed by a line that follows itself gently, without ever stopping. A stressless ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Metal

Set of 4 Handkerchief Armchairs by Massimo Vignelli for Knoll
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 4 handkerchief armchairs by Massimo Vignelli for Knoll. In 1968 Vignelli was contracted by Knoll to re-envision the corporate identity ...
Category

1980s American Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Ultra Glossy Red Wine Lacquered Wooden Armchair Designed by Laura Gonzalez
Located in Paris, FR
Ultra glossy lacquered wooden armchairs inspired by the Classical Indian chairs of 19th century designed by Laura Gonzalez. Portuguese craftsmanship and Fabric "Alizon" by French Mai...
Category

2010s French International Style Armchairs

Materials

Wood

Functional Art Chair / Throne "'Spring Swab" by Lionel Jadot
Located in Antwerp, BE
Collectible design / Functional art, Lionel Jadot for Everyday Gallery, Belgium 2020 Born in Brussels in 1969, Lionel Jadot is an interior designer, artist, designer, filmmaker, adventurer. But all at once, preferably. Lionel Jadot is firing on all cylinders. ‘I never throw anything, I pick up everything. Not having a green thumb, I’m trying cuttings, weddings against nature. I never forget a line.’ He’s inviting us in subtle, off-beat worlds, on the edge of reality. Its material is made of dilated time. A wandering spirit, he seeks a protective balance in a hostile world. It is his constant questioning: what happens to the place where we live? For Lionel Jadot, everything is object, everything is history. He draws from other places, other times, and seeks what’s linking them. He sews, stitches, unpicks, blends materials, combines eras. He will enshrine some wood essence in metal, some mineral in a plant, the old in the new. ‘I take extra care to the joint between two materials.’ With him, there is always some play in the parts, as in a piece of machinery. From a kingdom to another, he provokes organic, viral growths, generating energy. Linking past and future, he never forgets a line. ‘I accumulate them.’ He’s inviting us in subtle worlds, off-beat, on the edge of reality. Are we in 1930 or in 2030? Both, no doubt. Its material is made of dilated time. The eye goes hand in hand with the ear. ‘When I walk into a place, I listen to the good (or bad) it does to me. An ineffable feeling.’ He recreates mutant buildings, like the future Royal Botanique, a 5 stars hotel housed in the Church of the Gesu, a former convent behind a 1940 façade. He talks about a ‘hotel object’, which he holds and turns around in his hand. A wandering spirit, he’s flirting with retro-futurism. The Jam, another hotel, is intended for urban travelers, fans of swiftness, fluidity and hospitality. He designs interiors as a set of objects: a motorcycle cut in concrete becomes a bar counter. He finds gothic cartoon echoes, from the likes of Moebius, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Enki Bilal, sets from Garage Hermétique and Blade Runner, a protective balance in a hostile world. Discovering Jadot’s little cosmos of collected and accumulated goods, it becomes clear that every element has its own story. I tried to collect them and in turn, devour them in the coming paragraphs. But first: the show is best experienced seated, barring the distinction between object of use and object of attention, they invite for different types of conversation. The seats, chairs, thrones all make us think of our own physical comportment, and of how the seat lends grandeur to the person sitting on it, by crowning its presence. The crackling floor, the felt walls and the diffuse light slow you down into an oddly absorbing environment, in which you are left puzzled. In the eclectic collages of objects, bits and pieces collected all over the world come together in ways practical, and logical, though possibly only in the artist’s mind. All his finds eventually seem to fall into place. Starting with the mere conception of a chair, rather than with a set-out plan or sketch, the works are intuitively construed out of an archive that one can only imagine the dimensions of. Things forgotten by others, precious for him, were all once designed for their own purpose. Here they find their fit as a base, a closing system or a balancing element. The first piece that opens the exhibition, the most throne-like of all seats in the show, builds around a chair of his grandmother, protected by mops, and harassed with bed springs. As you enter the space, you pass by a shell leaning over a yellow seat that stems from his old Mustang, and find a white stool piece with Mexican leather dog training whips— the white building blocks of which turn out to be dried molding material, as found and broken out of a bucket by workers every morning. Further, the stone piece that reminds one of the stone age, is indeed made of 400 million old rocks, and the soft seats are lent from construction, where these strokes of textile carry up the heaviest goods. In the corner — but as you walk this walk please be seated on any of the thrones and experience the work for a moment— the green fluffy cover is made by XXXX who remakes cartographies of warzones, one of which is here mounted on a flexible fishing chair. On an experience level, the conversation chair enhances self-confidence, while putting you literally in a good spot with the person you’re conversing with. The lamp perfectly shows the playful Cadavre Exquis...
Category

2010s Belgian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Metal

Bruxelles Armchair .
Located in Kraków, Małopolska
Bruxelles armchair from 1960, Czech Republic. Highly recommended item will be perfect complementation of the rooms in not only Classic style, but...
Category

1950s Czech Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Metal

Arco Armchair, by RAIN, Contemporary Armchair, Upholstery on Wood Structure
By RAIN
Located in Sao Paulo, SP
Arco is an upholstered armchair of simple and enveloping geometry. The shape of the piece reproduces the arch of the body, creating a welcoming anatomical shell. The armchair is cove...
Category

2010s Brazilian International Style Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Set of 4 Handkerchief Armchairs by Massimo Vignelli for Knoll
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 4 handkerchief armchairs by Massimo Vignelli for Knoll. In 1968 Vignelli was contracted by Knoll to re-envision the corporate identity ...
Category

1980s American Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Bruxelles Armchair .
Located in Kraków, Małopolska
Bruxelles armchair from 1960, Czech Republic. Highly recommended item will be perfect complementation of the rooms in not only Classic style, but...
Category

1950s Czech Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Metal

Great Scale Armchair in Cerused Oak and Leather
Located in New York, NY
Great scale armchair, perfect for a desk, made of straight cut oak, beautifully cerused. Two tone pony hide beautifully complements the wood. Jean-Michel Frank elements throughout.
Category

1950s French Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Oak, Leather

Set of 4 Handkerchief Armchairs by Massimo Vignelli for Knoll
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of 4 handkerchief armchairs by Massimo Vignelli for Knoll. In 1968 Vignelli was contracted by Knoll to re-envision the corporate identity ...
Category

1980s American Vintage International Style Armchairs

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Related Items
Pair of Midcentury Marcel Breuer Chrome and Rattan Cesca Chairs for Gavina 1970s
Located in Roma, IT
Set of wonderful two mid-century chromed metal and rattan chairs "Cesca model". These amazing chairs were designed by Marcel Breuer and produced for Gavina in Italy during the 1970s....
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MidCentury Cesca Armchair in Chrome and Straw by Marcel Breuer for Gavina, 1960s
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Comfortable Artsome Brown Leather Lounge Armchair & Ottoman with Bentwood Frame
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We are delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning, Artsome, hand dyed saddle brown leather lounge armchair with matching ottoman A very well made, decorative and extreme...
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Iron Armchairs by Geraldo de Barros, Brazil, 1955, Unilabor
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Marcel Breuer Pair of Cesca Chairs, Italy, 1970s
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Marcel Breuer Pair of Cesca Chairs, Italy, 1970s
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Armchair in Velvet Molteni&C by Gio Ponti D.154.2 - made in Italy
Located in New York, NY
D.154.2 Lovechair in Velvet by Gio Ponti. Expert-crafted in Italy exclusively by Molteni&C. The mid-century D.154.2 lovechair features a shell-like structure inspired by renowned It...
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian International Style Armchairs

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Velvet

All Black Cesca Chairs by Marcel Breuer, Italy, 1970s
Located in PEGO, ES
Set of six (6) rare all black Cesca chairs, icon of the Bauhaus and designed in 1928, by Marcel Breuer. Black beech wood, black lacquered tubular structure. In good vintage condition...
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Mid-20th Century Italian International Style Armchairs

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1930s Cesca Armchair by Marcel Breuer
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A minimal Cesca armchair designed by Marcel Breuer featuring caned seat and back on a cantilevered tubular chrome frame. Originally from the Levy House...
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1930s American Vintage International Style Armchairs

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Metal

1930s Cesca Armchair by Marcel Breuer
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H 32 in W 23.5 in D 23.5 in
Set of Four Tanned Cognac Marcel Breuer Cesca Dining Chairs
Located in Dallas, TX
Bold and modern, iconic set of four Marcel Breuer's revolutionary Cesca (B32) dining armchairs. The simple design combines an Industrial Age aesthetic of tubular steel inspired by a ...
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B32 Cesca Chairs by Marcel Breuer for Gavina
Located in Chicago, IL
c. 1960s. Price is for the set. Contact us if you’d like to purchase a single item. These Cesca chairs are an original example of the armless B32 chair by Marcel Breuer. They are ext...
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Set of 8 Unilabor Chairs MT 552, Geraldo de Barros, 1960s, Brazilian Design
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Eileen Gray, Transat Lounge Chair, 1970s
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Antler, Leather

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Fabric, Bouclé, Wool, Cotton, Polyester

Pair of Italian Pacha Armchairs, 70s
Pair of Italian Pacha Armchairs, 70s
H 31.89 in W 37.41 in D 31.5 in
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Vintage Wassily Chair Attributed to Knoll
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International Style armchairs for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique International Style armchairs for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage armchairs created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include seating, asian art and furniture and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, metal and other materials. If you’re shopping for used International Style armchairs made in a specific country, there are Europe, Asia, and Philippines pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original armchairs, popular names associated with this style include Knoll, Massimo Vignelli, Bontempi Casa, and laura gonzalez. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for armchairs differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $395 and tops out at $24,000 while the average work can sell for $3,333.

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