Knoll Butterfly Chair Anniversary Edition

Overview

The Knoll Butterfly Chair Anniversary Edition is not an office chair. For its 80th anniversary Knoll pays tribute to design originality, creating a special edition of the Butterfly chair. Reintroduced by Knoll in 2018, this anniversary edition features new materials and techniques that enhance this classic design for the modern market. This is a low-slung, minimalist lounge chair designed for residential relaxation and occasional seating—it offers zero ergonomic support, no adjustability, and no features intended for prolonged desk work.

If you arrived here looking for a task chair, you're in the wrong place. The Butterfly is a sculptural accent piece with a storied design pedigree, but it belongs in a living room, patio, or lounge corner, not at a workstation. This review examines the Anniversary Edition on its own terms: as a design object and lounge seating, with honest context about what it is and isn't.

At a glance

The brand & its philosophy

Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized for creating modern furniture that inspires, evolves, and endures. Founded by Hans and Florence Knoll, the company built its reputation by collaborating with luminaries of modernism—Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Warren Platner—and placing design integrity at the centre of its commercial strategy. Steeped in the history of modernism, Knoll's vision is carried forward today by the most talented contemporary designers.

Knoll's philosophy has always married sculptural beauty with functional rigor, though that balance leans heavily sculptural in pieces like the Butterfly. The brand's willingness to reissue historic designs—often with updated materials and manufacturing—reflects both curatorial pride and commercial savvy in a market hungry for mid-century icons.

The designer and the design story

In 1937 three young architects—Antonio Bonet from Barcelona, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy from Buenos Aires—met in Paris and came up with a formidable intuition. They formed the architectural collective Grupo Austral and designed the BKF chair together for an apartment building in Buenos Aires. The chair debuted in 1938, the same year Knoll was founded, though the two would not intersect for nearly a decade.

In 1941 the chair was awarded the Acquisition Prize by the Museum of Modern Art, after Edgar Kaufmann Jr. brought the chair to MoMA's attention. In 1947 Hans Knoll purchased the rights to the design, and it was produced with great success for four years, as Model no. 198. By Knoll's estimate, more than five million copies were produced in the 1950s —most of them unlicensed knockoffs, which Knoll fought unsuccessfully in court. The original designers saw little financial reward; Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy reportedly earned just over $11 in royalties in the first two years.

The Butterfly chair proposed by Knoll in 2018, in fact, in a project developed 80 years after the original, introduces new materials to improve the sensory experience of users. This Anniversary Edition replaced the original canvas or leather sling with laser-cut thermoformed felt, a technical upgrade that pays homage to the chair's radical simplicity.

Design language & aesthetics

The Butterfly Chair is a lesson in minimalist elegance. Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy of Grupo Austral created a welded frame of ultra-light, ¼-inch steel rods, manipulated into hairpin angles until a shape reminiscent of a butterfly's wings emerged. The frame is a continuous loop of bent steel—no joints, no fasteners visible—creating a sculptural silhouette that reads as both furniture and art object.

The structure is in chromium-plated or coated steel, in white or black, while the seat is made with thermoformed felt. The laser shaping of the fabric, without added stitching, permits the direct interlock of the seat and the steel framework, ensuring comfort and elegance. The result is a chair that appears to hover, weightless, with the seat suspended in a gentle hammock curve. It's unmistakably mid-century in spirit but timeless in execution.

Ergonomics & how it supports the body

Let's be blunt: this chair offers no ergonomic support in the office-seating sense. The design diverged from seating that supported proper posture since the sitter had to slouch. The seat height is roughly 32 cm—about 13 inches—placing your hips well below your knees, forcing a reclined, semi-supine posture. There is no lumbar support, no backrest structure, no pelvic tilt control.

The low, leather-and-iron chair is easy to move, easy to clean, and comfortable—until you try to rise out of it. The felt sling cradles you in a deep, enveloping curve that encourages lounging, not sitting upright. For casual reading, conversation, or a 20-minute break, it's inviting. For eight hours at a desk? Absolutely not.

Key adjustments & mechanisms

There are none. The Butterfly Chair is a fixed-position sling seat with no moving parts, no levers, no tilt, no height adjustment. You sit in it, or you don't. The steel frame is rigid; the felt seat stretches slightly under load but does not adjust.

This is by design—the chair's radical proposition in 1938 was its simplicity and portability. But it also means that one size must fit all, and for anyone with back issues, knee problems, or a need for postural variety, the Butterfly offers no accommodation.

Materials & build quality

The Butterfly Chair's dynamic lines are made possible by the quality of the materials involved; the black coated steel structure and the thermoformed felt seat. This element, in particular, represents the true innovation of the project, because thanks to its workmanship it becomes a self-supporting structure with the dual role of seat and covering. The felt is laser-cut and heat-moulded, eliminating stitching and creating a seamless transition from seat to attachment points.

Build quality in the 2018 reissue is high—Knoll's Italian manufacturing ensures tight welds, smooth finishes, and consistent geometry. Vintage examples vary wildly; collectors note that original frames came in different widths, steel diameters, and weld quality. The Anniversary Edition standardizes these variables, though at the cost of some of the handmade charm of early runs.

Sitting experience—what it actually feels like day to day

Sitting in the Butterfly is like being gently caught mid-fall. The felt sling flexes and conforms, distributing your weight across a broad surface. It's genuinely comfortable for the first 20–30 minutes—inviting, even meditative. Users report sitting in the weirdest positions, finding it quite comfortable for casual lounging, especially outdoors or in a reading nook.

But the low seat height and reclined angle make it impractical for sustained work. You can't pull up to a desk; your legs splay out in front of you. Getting out requires core strength and coordination— you need to be agile to get in and out of it, which is why copies of the chair have often appeared in college dorm rooms over the years. It's a chair for moments, not marathons.

Who it's for (and who should skip it)

• Design enthusiasts and collectors: If you want an authentic modernist icon with MoMA pedigree, the Anniversary Edition is a beautifully executed reissue.

• Lounge and living spaces: Perfect for a reading corner, patio, bedroom accent, or gallery-like interiors where form matters as much as function.

• Occasional seating: Great for guests, conversation, or a place to sit and lace up boots—not for all-day anything.

Skip it if: you need an office chair, have back or knee issues, value postural support, require adjustability, or want seating for sustained desk work. This is emphatically not a task chair.

Comparisons with key rivals

None of these are office task chairs. If you're shopping for an actual office chair, consider the Knoll ReGeneration, Herman Miller Aeron, or Steelcase Leap instead.

Sizing, fit & configuration options

Dimensions are L. 82 cm × P. 76 cm × H. 32/90 cm (width × depth × seat/overall height). There is one size; no variants for different body types. The sling stretches slightly to accommodate a range of weights, but the frame geometry is fixed.

The structure is available in chromium-plated or coated steel, in white or black , and the Anniversary Edition offers the felt seat in a limited palette of colours (brick, brown, grey tones reported by retailers). No customisation beyond finish choice.

Sustainability & certifications

Knoll as a brand holds numerous certifications across its office-seating lines—BIFMA Level, GREENGUARD Gold, and others—but the Butterfly Chair Anniversary Edition is not marketed with specific environmental credentials. The felt is presumably wool-blend or synthetic; steel is recyclable. The chair's longevity and timeless design are its strongest sustainability arguments: it's meant to last decades and remain desirable, reducing the need for replacement.

No published data on recycled content, FSC certification (not applicable), or carbon footprint for this specific model. Knoll's broader corporate sustainability commitments apply, but the Butterfly sits outside the performance-seating category where these certifications are standard.

Maintenance, durability & warranty

All Knoll products sold in North America, with limited exceptions, are covered by the industry leading 12-year warranty, which includes parts and labor to repair. The felt seat may be more vulnerable to staining and wear than leather; steel frames are durable but can chip or rust if powder coating is compromised.

Vintage Butterfly chairs have survived 50+ years with frame repainting and new slings; the Anniversary Edition should prove similarly durable if treated with care. Felt can be spot-cleaned but is not as forgiving as performance fabrics. The lack of moving parts means fewer failure points—what you're maintaining is essentially a steel sculpture with a fabric seat.

Pricing, value & where it sits in the market

The average selling price for a Knoll Butterfly chair at 1stDibs is $1,825, while they're typically $475 on the low end and $5,500 for the highest priced. The Anniversary Edition, when available new from authorized Knoll retailers, commands a premium—often $2,000–3,000+ depending on region and finish. Vintage originals can be found cheaper, but authentication and condition vary wildly.

As an office chair, the value proposition is nil—you're paying icon tax for a piece that can't perform desk work. As a design object and lounge chair, the value depends on how much you prize provenance, craftsmanship, and modernist aesthetics. It's a luxury purchase, not a utilitarian one.

Verdict

This chair is still recognized as a classic of modernity, a symbol of lightness and freedom, but also of an elegance that is simultaneously informal and refined. The Knoll Butterfly Chair Anniversary Edition is a beautiful, historically significant piece of furniture. It belongs in a museum, a gallery, or a thoughtfully curated home. It does not belong at your desk.

If you came here looking for an office chair, move on—this is the wrong tool for the job. But if you're after a conversation-starting lounge chair with impeccable design credentials, the Anniversary Edition delivers on craft, heritage, and sculptural presence. Just don't expect it to support your spine through a workday, because it won't.