The criss-crossing metal frame that gives this 1968 design the name X-Chair has helped it find its way into our A-Zdvent overview of classic chairs.

The FK 82 X-Chair was created by Danish designers Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm, and was first produced by German firm Kill International.

The chair is typical of the duo's minimalist designs, which often combine steel and leather. It features a chrome-plated steel frame that supports a leather seat and backrest. Armrests formed by the bent steel poles are wrapped in leather cord to create a tactile surface.

Fabricius and Kastholm met when studying at the School for Interior Design in Copenhagen before setting up their own studio in 1961.

In 1965 their work was spotted at a trade fair in Germany by manufacturer Alfred Kill, who offered the designers a significant monthly fee to help them overcome misgivings about factory production and began to make the duo's furniture.

Several of the pieces developed during the period up until 1970 when the studio disbanded have become highly collectable, including the FK 85 Grasshopper Chair and FK 710 Skater Chair from 1968.

The X-Chair chair is now produced by Danish firm Lange Production in the same factory and using the same tools as when it was originally released in the 1960s.

Its X-shaped frames bear a resemblance to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair from 1929. The profiles of both designs evoke the curule seat used in Ancient Rome by high-ranking political and military officials.

Dezeen is publishing an A to Z of iconic chairs to count down the days until Christmas. Catch up with the list so far »