Fritz Hansen: Shaping Lasting Design
During 3 Days of Design, TLmag sat down with Fritz Hansen’s new Creative Director, Els Van Hoorebeeck, and designer Michael Anastassiades, who introduces the After Series—a solid wood table and chair collection—for the iconic Danish heritage brand.
Fritz Hansen is a name synonymous with Danish Design. Established in 1872, the company has been supporting and innovating Danish craftsmanship and design with notable collaborations from Arne Jacobson and Poul Kjærholm to Jaime Hayon and Cecile Manz. In many ways, Fritz Hansen goes beyond being a furniture brand and is more like a collective Danish national treasure, so deeply is it ingrained in the culture. The weight of this heritage does not go unnoticed by their new Creative Director, Els Van Hoorebeeck, who joined in October 2024, only months ahead of the launch of the After Series by Michael Anastassiades.
Belgian-born Van Hoorebeeck comes to Fritz Hansen with a diverse background including time at Vitra, The Office Group, and most recently, a five-year tenure as the Creative and Brand Director for &Tradition. With deep roots in the Danish design scene, she offers a nuanced understanding of Fritz Hansen’s legacy—paired with a fresh perspective. “In these last few months, a lot of my time has been spent researching and seeing the brand from the inside—exploring its incredible archive, where every major Danish designer has passed through,” she explains. “It’s really about understanding the past and the legacy—to keep that in mind while adding innovation to keep it alive and consistent,” she says.
Michael Anastassiades approaches design for a heritage brand with similar reverence: “My approach to how you design a piece for an historical company is deep. It goes back to the whole philosophy of Danish Design. It is not a selfish process but places itself in a cultural context. It’s about connectedness.” For Anastassiades, the historical process was an important and essential part of the design journey. You are joining something bigger than you and the design has to reflect that. His entry point into the collaboration was a personal one—a PK-12 chair that’s been in his home for years. “This was an interesting starting point for me – what it says to me and what it communicates. When I saw this chair, I felt there was something incredible about it. What is it that attracts me? Yes, its material and form, but I was more attracted by its generosity, its perceived comfort that it communicates. I wanted to sit on this chair, and when you do, you feel good. It makes you feel good.” He’s describing something beyond form and function—a connection to the spirit or soul of the piece.
The After Series includes a solid wooden chair and table crafted in ash, and includes a version in painted burgundy. Ash was selected in large part due to its local availability but also for larger connection to Danish design. Burgundy, a colour that he has used in other work, keeps the integrity of the wood, while evoking a darker, more elegant tone. The burgundy version has a Rosso Levanto marble top that seems to almost float atop the geometric legs. The bent wood chair has a subtly scooped back and seat that increases the relative distance between the back and sitting bones, enhancing its comfort. To complete the look, a leather cushion in natural or burgundy leather can be added to the chair. “The After Series is a distillation,” Anastassiades says. “It’s about pushing the process to arrive at something simple—stripping back layers to capture the essence.”
Van Hoorebeeck sees the After Series as a perfect stepping stone in the brand’s history: “It is a really great result because it emphasises where we come from, how we work with our heritage, and at the same time shows a preview of what is ahead. It is a really nice link between the past, present and the future.”
Alongside the After Series, Fritz Hansen unveiled its ReNEW programme during 3 Days of Design. The initiative focuses on refurbishing and recrafting iconic pieces from their archive—particularly the shell chairs (Ant, Grand Prix, and Series 7). Visitors witnessed artisans hand-stitching a leather Egg chair and repurposing a Series 7, among other activities. Also on display were two newly released Poul Kjærholm designs: the PK-3—an unrealized 1954 concept brought to life—and a front-upholstered version of the recently reissued PK-23 lounge chair.
Michael Anastassiades’s After Series for Fritz Hansen will launch globally in early September.
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