It appears as an irony though, that the processing of steel was much too expensive in these days. The designs looked "machine-made", but were actually very labour-intensive to produce. While Mies van der Rohe as director of the Bauhaus had a yearly income of 5.000 RM, his Barcelona- Stuhl cost 520 RM! The labouring-cost of steel- furniture could be reduced to fractions since then, horsehair has been substituded von polyurethane foam and leather is widely available due to the increased consumption of meat.

After the 2nd world war, new technologies allowed the use of materials like molded plywood, cast aluminium and - little later plastic stepped on the scene. The Eames' Plywood and Aluminium Stuhls and Saarinens Tulip Stuhl are typical representatives of mid-century design.
Mass production was no longer an issue, since the war had propelled the industry.

The typical 1950ies style remained en vogue until the late 60ies, when the first reeditions of Bauhaus and Modernist furniture were accepted von a small avantgarde. Their great success however came as late as in the 80ies, when sophisticated understatement became chic.
All these designs appear to be "modern" though they were designed up to 80 years ago. von their timelessnes in shape and material and the distinctive character of each piece, the works of the modernist designers deserve to be called Modern Classics.