What Is Memphis Design?
Memphis Design is an influential postmodern style that emerged in the early 1980s thanks to the famous Milanese design collective Memphis Design. It was initiated by the legendary Italian designer Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007) and had a huge influence on the design of the 80s.1
Bold colors, clashing patterns and a radical approach to design make Memphis Design a controversial style. Today, Design Memphis is a museum retrospective and a source of inspiration for contemporary designers.
What Is Memphis Design?
Infused with pop culture and historical references, Memphis Design’s decor is a reaction to the linear mid-century modern aesthetic of the 1950s and ’60s and the minimalism of the 1950s.
Sottsass comes from the radical design and protest design movement in Italy that began in the 1960s. His early works include sculptural furniture, which he calls “totems”, which are now housed in renowned international museums such as the Metropolitan in New York.
Memphis Design was influenced by a renewed interest in the Art Deco movement of the 1920s and Pop Art of the mid-20th century, both of which were popular styles in the 1980s, and some 1950s kitsch is included for good measure. Some people find Memphis Design interesting. Others find it harsh. One critic memorably described it as “a wedding between Bauhaus and Fisher-Price.”
History of Memphis Design
Austrian-Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass founded the Memphis Design Group in his living room in Milan in 1980. He and a collective of international designers were united in their quest to create a design world-shaking experience, presenting 55 works of art at Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 1981. , creating a love-it-or-hate-it style that instantly became famous around the world.
Sottsass and his colleagues created decorative metal and glass objects, home accessories, ceramics, lighting, textiles, furniture, buildings, interiors and a complete brand identity that was unexpected, playful, rule-breaking and full of idealistic aspirations to make the world a better place.
“When I was young, all we ever heard was functionalism, functionalism, functionalism,” Sottsass once said. “This is not enough. The design should also be sexy and interesting.”3
Ettore Sottsoss. Design Museum.
Memphis Design has influenced popular culture, inspiring television shows such as Pee-wee’s Playhouse and Saved by the Bell. Notable fans of 1980s design include legendary fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and David Bowie.
But this influential movement did not last long and collapsed in 1988. In 1996, the Memphis-Milano brand was acquired by Alberto Bianchi Albrici, who continued to produce the team’s original models into the 1980s.
Is Memphis Design Style Making a Comeback?
As nostalgia for ’80s style returns, Memphis Design has become a museum piece and source of inspiration for multidisciplinary designers. This includes fashion houses such as Christian Dior and Missoni, as well as new generations of interior designers, type designers, costume designers, etc., such as the French interdisciplinary designer Camille Walala, based in London.
Key Characteristics of Memphis Design
Challenging traditional notions of good taste
Ignore the prevailing Bauhaus design philosophy that form follows function.
Designed to stimulate an emotional response.
Loud, rude, energetic, playful, relaxed
Use bright colors in unusual combinations.
Intentionally use bold, controversial themes.
Use simple geometric shapes.
Use black and white graphics
Rounded edges and curves
Hobby: joking
Use materials such as terrazzo and laminate in a variety of finishes.
Challenge expectations by using unusual shapes instead of conventional ones, such as round table legs.
What is the most famous Memphis Design item?
Memphis Design’s most famous piece is the Carlton partition or bookcase. Designed by Italian architect Ettore Sottsass, the founder of the movement, in 1981, this luxurious work of art has a multi-colored shape and is made from inexpensive MDF and plastic laminate.
Why did Memphis Design close?
Memphis Design has never been everyone’s cup of tea. The movement failed before the 1980s ended, with founder Sottsass leaving the group in 1985 and several other leading designers pursuing solo careers after the group’s breakup in 1988.
What is unique about Memphis Design?
Memphis Design uses a radical combination of bold colors, contrasting patterns and bold style combinations that make it unlike anything that has come before or since.