Arne Jacobsen Series 7 Butterfly Chair Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

In 1955 Danish designer Arne Jacobsen introduced his now–iconic chair (above).

It's made from nine layers of molded plywood veneer with two layers of cotton textile between the veneer layers.

The frame and legs are made from mirror or satin–finished chrome steel tubing.

Simple, elegant, and classic.

Over six million have been sold.

I have long since lost count of the number of photos I've seen over the years of beautiful women seated on this chair, usually straddling it and looking directly into the camera lens over the chair's back.

In a tribute to the lasting popularity and influence of this deceptively simple design, Copenhagen–based Fritz Hansen,

which manufactures the Series 7, commissioned 13 of the world's most renowned designers and companies to create one–off versions reflecting their personal takes on the chair.

Nine of the 13 (the original is featured up top) are shown in this post;

from Paul Smith's Union Jack–themed version, created with British postage stamps, on down they are, in order, from:

1. Paul Smith

2. Birger Christensen

3. Louis Vuitton

4. Bisazza

5. Hugo Boss

6. Camper

7. Georg Jensen

8. Royal Copenhagen

9. Hummel

All 13 chairs will be on display at ARAM, a London furniture store and showroom, from November 10–26.

They'll then tour the world, to be shown in Milan, New York and Tokyo before being sold at auction next spring to raise funds for AIDS research and treatment in Africa.

Nicole Swengley featured the chairs in a story appearing in this weekend's Financial Times.