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Memphis Milano
Memphis Milano exploded onto the design scene in the early 1980s as a radical collective led by Ettore Sottsass, rejecting modernist restraint in favor of loud colors, clashing patterns, and playful geometry. More than a style, it was a joyful provocation that turned furniture into cultural statements, where irony, emotion, and pop energy ruled the room.
Memphis Milano
Creation of Memphis Milano
IT WAS ON THE EVENING OF 11 DECEMBER 1980. IN THE LIVING ROOM OF HIS HOME IN MILAN, ETTORE SOTTSASS WELCOMED COLLEAGUES, DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS, TO TALK ABOUT NEW FORMS OF EXPRESSION.
The name Memphis was chosen because it is the city in Tennessee where Elvis Presley lived, but also the capital of Ancient Egypt.
Ettore’s friends on hand that evening were Martine Bedin, Aldo Cibic, Michele De Lucchi, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Matteo Thun, and George J. Sowden. Memphis was later also joined by Andrea Branzi, Shiro Kuramata, Marco Zanini, Peter Shire, Gerard Taylor, Masanori Umeda, Arquitectonica, Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Javier Mariscal.
On 19 September 1981, at the gallery Arc '74 during the Salone del Mobile in Milan 55 pieces were shown, including furniture, lamps and ceramic objects. Three months later, over 400 periodicals, on a worldwide scale, paid tribute to the success of Memphis.
