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The group took inspiration from the song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (1966) by Bob Dylan, which repeatedly played on the radio during their first meeting session. On top of the colors, bold abstract shapes, lines, and squiggles were overlaid, which screams Memphis design. The store is decorated with various diagonal zig-zags, dots, triangles, and crisscross patterns in bright shades of magenta, yellow, teal, and orange, a palette unique to Memphis design.
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Memphis, named after Bob Dylan’s song Stuck Inside the Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, which was playing when the group first met. Their first collection was launched at Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 1981 at the Arc ’74 showroom. The show was critically acclaimed for its innovation and unique look; the show included designs for clocks, lighting, furniture, and ceramics created by internationally famous architects and designers. On a commercial level, Memphis became a successful brand, affording the broader public an aperture into the cerebral world of high-end, conceptual design on a retail level. Sottsass’ industrial partner for Memphis, Ernesto Gismondi, controlled the Memphis company after Sottsass left, later selling it to Alberto Bianchi Albrici in 1994.
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One can’t help but notice a Sandro Botticelli-Filippino Lippi simbiosis between the two — both creatives are recognizable for an approach to design that resonates as a coming together of particles, impulses and electric currents. MILAN — Bar Jamaica in Brera, Italy, where a dash of attitude is served with every Negroni cocktail, was one of the key meeting places for a movement that shook the furniture and collectible art world more than 40 years ago. The pillars of the Memphis movement were discussed in this dark wood-lined, fil rouge of a bar that continues to attract design pioneers just like it did the late Italian architect Ettore Sottsass and his milieu back in the ’70s. His new troupe had a rockstar sensibility about it, and shocked the design world when Memphis premiered its first collection of clocks, lamps, tables and TVs at Milan’s annual furniture fair, Salone del Mobile. “An effervescent, seductive and undeniably sympathetic group, it appalled some and amused others but put everyone attending the fair in a state of high excitement,” the New York Times reported. Approaching the crowds that gathered outside the fair and queued to see the collective’s work, Sottsass reportedly thought that a bomb had gone off.
What You Need to Know about Memphis Design Pioneer Ettore Sottsass
The entire room is covered in Memphis patterns and colors from the floor to the ceiling, not a single surface untouched by either color or pattern. Strong Memphis patterns emerge from the backgrounds of the designs and overlapping stripes, and clashing colors emerge. Although best known for this work in architecture, Graves was also involved in industrial design and designed both a dressing table in 1981 and a bed in 1982 for Memphis. With her original involvement born from her relationship with Sowden and her close friendship with Martine Bedine as teenagers, Du Pasquier became involved in the Memphis movement in 1981. Her textile decoration was key to the Memphis look and she also designed furniture, lamps and ceramics.
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It was only after the death of Sottsass in 2007 that Memphis design was brought to light again in an explosive way, which will be discussed later. Ettore had taken interest in Martine's designs at a show in 1979 and after finishing her studies she moved to Milan where she worked with him and the rest of the group. Martine became a member of Memphis in 1981 along with her teenage friend Nathalie du Pasquier. It was an exuberant two-fingered salute to the design establishment after years in which colour and decoration had been taboo. "It is no coincidence that the people who work for Memphis don’t pursue a metaphysic aesthetic idea or an absolute of any kind, much less eternity," observed Sottsass. "Today everything one does is consumed. It is dedicated to life, not to eternity."
Squiggle – Abstract Memphis Patterns
In tract development, elements of the style were sometimes used as a variation in postwar row housing in San Francisco's Sunset District. Miuccia Prada was instrumental in re-lighting the flame for Memphis when she used a vintage print from original Memphis founder Du Pasquier for her Miu Miu collection in 2006. The movement also made its way onto the Valentino runway for the fall ready-to-wear 2017 show.
Richard Mille's new Coloured Ceramics tap on Memphis design - Vogue Singapore
Richard Mille's new Coloured Ceramics tap on Memphis design.
Posted: Wed, 22 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Many modern creators shift away from the characteristic color solutions though and replace them with more reserved — or more trendy — solutions. Long before the modern-day Memphis revival, this watch kept the aesthetic alive in the mid-90s with a bold, simple design based on geometric shapes, bold primary colours, and a delightfully playful squiggle for a second-hand. Not for the faint of heart, it continues to challenge the status quo with its fearless mishmash of styles. The striking use of monochrome grid patterns, geometric shapes of varying scales, overlaid by squiggly lines, and colorful Terrazzos, can be described as both kitsch and garish in the best way. If scenes of Saved By the Bell and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air come to mind, you're on the right track. The Carlton is arguably one of the most iconic Memphis-style furniture pieces of Memphis design, and it is only fitting that the founder and leader of the Memphis group, Ettore Sottsass, was the one in charge of its design.
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Her range included monochrome grid patterns at varying scales, overlaid by squiggly shapes and textured circular motifs, with the classic Memphis primary colours softened in a muted palette of lemon yellow, teal, lilac and soft pink. Memphis Group products were much-derided by critics at the time for being ugly, expensive and impractical. Few would have predicted its ultimate cultural impact, or the revival of the aesthetic three decades on.
Designer Ettore Sottsass founded the Memphis Group with other designers and architects. They took their name from a Bob Dylan song titled Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, which was played on repeat during their first meeting. The movement had fizzled before the 1980s were out, with founder Sottsass leaving the collective in 1985 and some of its other leading designers pursuing solo careers once the band broke up for good in 1988. Opticos principal Daniel Parolek inspired a new movement for housing choice in 2010 when he introduced the concept of the “missing middle” in American housing. Today, Opticos creates innovative architectural designs to help build walkable communities with unique, diverse housing choices that are attainable for all. London based artist, Camille Walala creates site-specific street murals and installations using a limited colour palette and bold graphic forms which have an inherent relationship with Memphis through their imposing energy.
As a result, Europeen bars, shops and even flats acquired that freaky, acid look. Of course, the influence of Memphis design can be seen not only in houses galore, but also in home decor stores. He has worked with world-class agencies including Superunion, Wolff Olins and Vault49 on brand storytelling, tone of voice and verbal strategy for global brands such as Virgin, Pepsi and TikTok. Nick launched the Brand Impact Awards in 2013 while editor of Computer Arts, and remains chair of judges.
For instance, Karl Lagerfeld had become one of the first fans of the Memphis style and bought the entirety of Sottsass’ first collection to furnish his Monte Carlo apartment. Alessandro Mendini introduced a splash of cyan to the traditional Memphis palette for his Supreme skateboard designs. After the collective shut down, many of its members continued practicing individually. Sottsass himself was a successful postmodernist architect, and it was only after his death in 2007 that interest in the Memphis design aesthetic was re-awakened in a big way.
The result is a color block of bold patterns and colors on both the exterior and the interior of the cars, where patterned textiles are featured on the seats. During their active years, the Memphis group was well known for its bizarre furniture designs. But aside from their furniture pieces, fashion, household items, architecture, and industrial designs were also heavily influenced by Memphis design. Sottsass was also a member of the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus but ended up resigning after only three years, as he perceived the movement as unprofessional and hostile. In 1956, he moved to New York and started working for George Nelson who was an industrial designer and the lead designer of the Herman Miller furniture company.
Designer Karl Lagerfeld was a fan and bought the entirety of Sottsass’ first collection. Missoni and Christian Dior also took inspiration from the movement, with Dior's Fall 2011 collection helping revive enthusiasm for Memphis design. David Bowie was also an enthusiast, and when his estate auctioned his art collection in 2016, it was revealed that he had collected more than 400 pieces since the '80s. The Memphis Group, also known as Memphis Milano, was an Italian design and architecture group founded by Ettore Sottsass. The group designed postmodern furniture, lighting, fabrics, carpets, ceramics, glass and metal objects. Streamline style can be contrasted with functionalism, which was a leading design style in Europe at the same time.
