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Today it more and more often appears in interior and graphic design (much alike other ’80s design traits), so I’ll help you get fascinated and spot a Memphis pattern at first sight. One of the members of the Memphis group, Nathalie Du Pasquier, collaborated with Danish company HAY to create Memphis-esque patterned bags in 2013. A year later, she designed a collection for the fashion company American Apparel. Elsewhere in fashion, Memphis' work has served as the inspiration for fashion collections by designers such as Dior and Missoni. In the early 80s, Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass founded Memphis, a group of artists and designers who became known for their bright and bold furniture design.
Memphis Architecture: Dream Come True Building
Another founding member of Sottsass Associati, Zanini was a member of Memphis from the very beginning and continued to design furniture, lighting, small utensils, glass and ceramics for the group until 1988. Letterforms provide excellent, predictable shapes in which to contain the madness of Memphis Design. Like a star, steadfast letters can provide a focal point in order to reign in and center the surrounding graphic elements. A common technique is to leave a space among the Memphis Design graphics for the subject of the composition in a kind of frame. Alternatively, scattered shapes can be placed directly behind the subject, creating a backing explosion of abstract color.
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From wall decals to furniture, and décor accessories, shop '80s inspired pieces to add to any modern space. The movement did much more than inspire pop culture; it commanded the attention and following of some major tastemakers worldwide. When David Bowie's estate auctioned his art collection in 2016, it was revealed that he had collected more than 400 Memphis Design Group pieces since the '80s. Additionally, designer Karl Lagerfeld was also a fan and bought the entirety of Sottsass' first collection. Memphis Design is an influential and unapologetic postmodern style born in the '80s to a collaborative design group of architects and designers.
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With its ornamental style infused with pop culture and historical references, Memphis Design was a reaction to the clean, linear mid-century modern aesthetic of the 1950s-60s and the minimalism of the 1970s. Amsterdam based Karan Singh is an illustrator whose work uses Memphis style shapes combined with op-art minimalism, with a great eye for colour his work is both striking and hypnotic. Throughout the ’60s and the ’70s a key member of his team was Montreal-native Albert Leclerc, who today is a renowned designer, academic and served as Olivetti’s longtime corporate identity director. Now 89, Leclerc is sitting at his dining room table near surrounded by blown-glass Memphis vases, one of the first Memphis side tables and his own Crayola-colored “Palingenesis” sculptures. A smartphone with a conscience, designed to change the relationship between people and their phones.
In 2021, Saint Laurent joined forces with Memphis for its Rive Droite release with Memphis microbial patterns transplanted onto sneakers and its check patterns onto sweatshirts. Hun Kim, design director of Karl Lagerfeld, resurrected the Memphis theme for his spring 2024 ready-to-wear collection, opening up the discussion for a younger generation. Memphis was named after a Bob Dylan song, “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again,” which played during the group’s inaugural meeting. Leclerc says there probably wouldn’t have even been a Memphis if Sottsass hadn’t had his own Kerouac-ian experience in the U.S. that opened his mind. Together with Sottsass Associati, Radl later founded 1984 Italiana di Comunicazione, a creative avant-garde advertising agency.
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The starkly contrasting black and white stripes on this playful stool would complement a variety of color palettes from bright, neon, and pastel shades. Additionally, the oddly shaped legs are undeniably inspired by the famous movement. If you're looking to create an ambiance reminiscent of Saved By The Bell's diner, The Max, this wall decal is just the place to start. The geometric shapes piled on one another are a dead giveaway for the nostalgic trend.

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Memphis design, a style synonymous with the 1980s, is one example of how a movement that, in the early aughts, would’ve seemed ridiculous is now back in style among influencers and tastemakers. This article is part of our latest Design special report, about creative people finding fresh ways to interpret ideas from the past. Illustrator, Morag Myerscough’s work can be described as being somewhat Memphis for its use of vibrant colour and energetic shapes. The colours are less primary and more fluorescent which only increases the vibrancy.
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They stood for everything that Modernism was against form instead of function, evoking emotion instead of contentment, and contrasting nature instead of integrating it. When not knowing anything about Memphis design, and taking a first look at some examples, it is hard to believe that the Memphis design style began as early as 1981. Its vibrant colors and dynamic forms make it look like a concept that can’t be older than a few months.
Minimalist Architecture – Building With Minimalism in Mind
Social media and new digital communication tools are a way to drive the storytelling “with the same disruptive force” of a movement that radicalized an entire industry, Vezza continues. “It was an emotional liberation full of colors and decorations which was very new at this moment,” Radl points out. If one characteristic defined Sottsass more than others, it was his insatiable curiosity. He drew inspiration from a spectrum of sources, like literature, anthropology, ethnology, geography, and archaeology. He was an avid photographer and took thousands of images everywhere he went—from details of walls and doors to the beds he slept in. Part of an impressive social circle, he took portraits of luminaries like Bob Dylan, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Chet Baker, and Robert Mapplethorpe.
Within the group's libertarian philosophy, the objects presented mixed different materialities, such as ceramics, metal and cheap plastic laminates, creating shapes that ranged between geometric and organic designs. An exaggerated composition that did not pass unscathed from comments and criticisms that claimed that the works were an affront to what was considered beautiful. The building consists of striking black and white stripes, and the speckled patterns that Memphis design is so well known for can also be seen above the entrance facade. Simple geometric shapes with vibrant colors engulf the building and make it stand out from a mile away.
Sottsass was born in the mountain town of Innsbruck, in his mother’s native Austria, in 1917. Early on the seeds of the craft were planted in the young Sottsass, who would watch his father work with fascination. In 1929, the family moved to Turin, Italy, where Sottsass Sr. had the promise of better jobs and where Sottsass Jr. could attend the prestigious Politecnico di Torino. After graduating in 1939 with a degree in architecture, he dutifully joined the Italian military during World War II. Welcome to The Designest — a professional design blog aimed to deliver fresh news & trends of the industry as well as the most essential courses & tutorials you must have been searching for. Bowie's extensive art collection was auctioned at Sotheby’s over three days, raising £1.4 million.
With its pop colors, uplifting forms and electric patterns, it’s hard to believe political and social chaos once cast a shadow over this inspiring scene where Memphis came to be. In 1980, when Sottsass, then in his 60s, got a group of young architects and designers together to discuss a cosmic break from the old school cycle, Italy had just begun to heal after almost two decades marked by episodes of terrorism. When Steve Jobs declared in 2000 that the new Mac computer would launch with on-screen buttons that “look so good, you’ll want to lick them,” he may well have revealed the impact of a design philosophy like Sottsass’s on the company’s design aesthetic. Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of Memphis, with reissued pieces being sold for prohibitive price points, and the group’s ethos has found its way into the work of contemporary designers and artists.