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Eames plastic group chair Shell Armchair DAX

As seen in:

Star Wars films

Designer: Charles and Ray Eames

sHerman Miller, Vitra

Carrie Fisher delivers the lines of her cool and collected Star Wars original audition from an Eames molded fibreglass “shell” DAX armchair, a firm Film and Furniture favourite. With its sculptural shape and comfortable arm rests, the Eames DAX chair first appeared on the design scene in the mid-1950s.

Presented in a range of vibrant hues, Charles and Ray Eames plastic group chairs (also known as the fiberglass or polypropylene group of chairs) for Vitra. The collection introduced the idea of the multifunctional chair, featuring side chair and arm chair shells that could be combined with a variety of bases, and soon became one of the best-known furniture pieces of the twentieth century.

An organic yet contemporary form, the shell seats rest upon a series of bases – such as the X-base as seen here, or the four-legged wooden base with steel ‘Eiffel’ cross struts.

DAX stands for D for Dining, A for Arm (chair), X for X-base.

Prior to the creation of the Eames fiberglass chair range, fiberglass had never been used in a residential capacity and the Eames’ experiments represented the first foray into this wonderfully tactile material. The chairs that followed were emblematic of all that was magical about the 50s. The fiberglass captured the spirit of innovation and optimism that was rife in mid-century America while the cheerful colours brought new energy to the somewhat controlled interiors of the 40s. Production was phased out in the 1990s, due to technological complications and an inability to keep up with other more ecological materials. Today, innovative production systems mean these issues have been resolved, and the Fiberglass Chairs are now available for a new generation to enjoy.