The chair was commissioned in the 1940s by the United States Navy in World War II for use on warships: the contract specified that "it had to be able to withstand torpedo blasts to the side of a destroyer".
•
Nonetheless, the Emeco 1006 has become an icon of American design, appearing regularly in design magazines, fashion layouts and television series such as Sex and the City and House M.D. In the 2000s, the chair was the basis of a new line of aluminum furniture designed by French designer Philippe Starck.