Swedish designer Mathsson was fascinated with the act of sitting. In designing the Vilstolen, he sought to create a modern chair which was based on the position of the sitting body. He brought his considerable practical experience to this design problem, having been an apprentice in his father's cabinet-making firm for most of the 1920s. Without stuffed upholstery, he addressed the challenge of comfort by forming the seat from bands of woven hemp, an idea which he adapted from the underbelly belts used to secure saddles. The chair is also remarkably light having been made from a laminated and bent birch frame.Although Mathsson's anthropomorphic design and use of natural materials is widely credited with tempering the severity of Modernist design, the Vilstolen has a clear relationship to other contemporary Modern movement designs including those by Alvar Aalto. With a stable frame, economical use of materials and small number of parts, Mathsson's chair shares many of the principles underlying the design of contemporary tubular steel furniture.