Verner Panton | 100 Years
“Choosing colours should not be a gamble. It should be a conscious decision. Colours have a meaning and a function.”
— Verner Panton
Verner Panton | 100 Years
“Choosing colours should not be a gamble. It should be a conscious decision. Colours have a meaning and a function.”
— Verner Panton
Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Verner Panton, a designer who didn’t just use colour, but championed it as a powerful, functional force. Few figures have shaped the visual language of modern interiors as radically or as joyfully.
Born in 1926 in Gamtofte, Denmark, Panton studied at Odense Technical College before enrolling at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. After working in Arne Jacobsen’s architectural studio from 1950–52, he established his own practice in 1955, setting the stage for a career defined by experimentation, optimism and an unwavering belief in the emotional impact of design.
Panton’s legacy spans furniture, lighting, textiles and immersive interiors. From the revolutionary Panton Chair, the first chair to be moulded from a single piece of polymer, to the strikingly recognisable Flowerpot series, his work captured the radical spirit of the 1960s and beyond. His designs challenged convention, embracing bold geometry, saturated colour and a playful sense of futurism that still feels strikingly contemporary.
To mark this centenary, our Upper Street window, created in collaboration with &Tradition, celebrates Panton’s enduring relationship with colour. We are proud to launch new Flowerpot colourways inspired by the original colour palette - Ivory, Zesty Orange and Steel Blue, reaffirming the idea that colour is not decorative excess, but a deliberate design choice. Alongside the Flowerpot, the display also highlights the graphic elegance of the Wire Stool and the sculptural simplicity of the Topan Floor Light, pieces that demonstrate Panton’s ability to balance experimentation with clarity and function.
Beyond our window, Panton’s centenary is being marked across the design world. Louis Poulsen has reintroduced the original Panthella colours from the 1970s (original opal orange, original opal red, original opal brown and original opal green), honouring Panton’s vision for soft, atmospheric lighting exactly as it was first conceived. Meanwhile, Vitra has announced the Heart Cone Chair Anniversary Edition 2026 and the Panton Chair Limited Edition 2026, inviting the public to vote for the final colour, a fittingly democratic and playful tribute to a designer who believed colour should provoke feeling and conversation.
One hundred years on, Verner Panton’s work remains unapologetically bold, optimistic and relevant. His designs remind us that colour has power, to shape space, to influence mood, and to reflect a more expressive way of living. Today, we celebrate not just a designer, but a mindset that continues to inspire how we see and experience the world.
Discover Verner Panton's designs here.
