Ever since Herman Miller introduced the striking but expensive Aeron chair in 1994, the office chair has been an executive status symbol.

The new Liberty chair, from ergonomic design company Humanscale, aims to do what many seats have attempted but failed at in the past decade: taking away the title of “It” chair from the Aeron, which a year ago still commanded 55% of the market for high-end desk chairs.

Like the Aeron chair, the Liberty is made with mesh, but Humanscale argues that the chair’s design, by industrial designer Niels Diffrient, is a significant improvement over the Aeron. While the back of the Aeron consists of one piece of elastic mesh stretched across a horizontal frame, the Liberty is made of three pieces of low stretch mesh sewn together. According to Mr. Diffrient, this provides far better lumbar support for the sitter, creating a contoured shape that perfectly fits the human back. There are no lumbar or tilt controls to fiddle with – the chair’s makers say it offers complete support for users of any height or weight by molding to the sitter’s shape. Like the Freedom chair, which Mr. Diffrient designed for Humanscale in 2000, it has an automatic counter-balance recline that lets users recline without locks or tension springs.

The Liberty was first introduced to the trade at the Neo-Con 2004 market in Chicago, where it won several design awards, but is only now shipping to retailers. In New York, it will be available in about four weeks at Sam Flax (900 Third Ave., 212-813-6666; 12 W. 20th St., 212-620-3000); prices start at $955.The chair comes in a variety of mesh styles and colors and is currently available with fixed arms or no arms; height adjustable arms will be available later this year. For more information, visit www.humanscale.com/liberty.