Paying tribute to a pioneering designer

Fondly known as the “grande dame of Danish Design”, Nanna Ditzel (1923–2005) is considered one of the most influential Danish designers of the 20th century. Her style never stopped evolving throughout her more than 60-year career.

In 2023, to mark the 100th anniversary of Nanna Ditzel’s birth, Fredericia paid tribute to this pioneering woman and their former leading designer, celebrating her collected oeuvre and showcasing her legacy as a remarkable world citizen. A woman who challenged the comme il faut of design and succeeded in leaving an enduring dash of poetic lightness and artistic innovation in the Danish design tradition.

“ When I begin work on a new chair, everything is possible; everything is allowed. It’s a challenge. ”
Nanna Ditzel, 1994

A designer breaking the rules

Nanna Ditzel has deservedly positioned herself in the history of design due to her many striking and innovative designs across centuries and disciplines. Being a generation after legendary architects and designers like Børge Mogensen and Hans J. Wegner, Ditzel also studied under the master architect and designer Kaare Klint at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts after graduating as a cabinetmaker and while studying as a furniture architect at the School of Arts and Craft.

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Nanna Ditzel Design

A leading female figure in the history of Danish design, Nanna Ditzel was not only strikingly ambitious but progressive and forward-looking for her time. Highly occupied with our ways of sitting, she believed comfortable furniture paved the way for new ways of thinking and living.

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Taking design to new heights

In September 2023, Trapholt – Museum of Modern Art and Design opened the most extensive exhibition on Nanna Ditzel ever staged. Earlier that spring, a sneak peek of the exhibition was showcased at Fredericia's Copenhagen Showroom.

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