The Chair Beloved by Supreme, Comme des Garçons, and Barbara Kruger

With its simple structure of a seat, legs, and nine screws, Stool 60 is regarded today as the archetype of the stool. Adapting the principles of modernism and mass-production technology to Finnish conditions, it is Alvar Aalto's signature work—proof of how the most local of things can become universal. Aalto steadily refined the idea, developing its production methods and techniques over time.

1930s

In the late 1920s, Alvar Aalto experimented with bentwood furniture alongside master woodworker Otto Korhonen. Early on, every step was done by hand—legs laminated from six layers of wood bear the traces. At times the lamination was reduced to four layers, and with the introduction of a bending machine, the five-layer method was finally standardized.

1940s

During the Second World War, when glue for bentwood legs was unavailable, the legs were made by interlocking two pieces of wood. Even as factory workers were conscripted and materials ran short, production continued in Finland. Made in extremely limited numbers, these wartime stools are rare models seldom seen today.

1950-60s

The 1952 Helsinki Olympics brought renewed energy to Finnish society. Orders for Stool 60 surged, and it spread widely into homes and public spaces. To suit varied tastes, wood options such as mahogany and oak joined birch in popularity, and linoleum seats in custom colors became available. The Artek brand and its factory expanded as well, and by the mid-1960s the production method had been established in a form nearly unchanged today.

2010s

In the 2010s, Stool 60 transformed into a medium for creative expression, with special editions in new colors, patterns, and graphics created in collaboration with Rei Kawakubo, Tom Dixon, Barbara Kruger, Supreme, and MUJI, among others.