The Vitra Design Museum maintains one of the largest collections of modern furniture design in the world, with objects representing all of the major eras and stylistic periods from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present. Special areas of the collection include early industrial bentwood furniture, turn-of-the-century designs by Viennese architects, Gerrit Rietveld's experiments, tubular steel furniture from the 1920s and '30s, key objects of Scandinavian design from 1930 to 1960, Italian design, and contemporary developments. A further area of special interest is American design, ranging from Shaker pieces to the postmodern seating of Robert Venturi.

The Museum Collection also holds several prominent estates, including those of Charles Eames, Verner Panton, Anton Lorenz, and Alexander Girard. The Collection is complemented by an extensive archive and research library.