To many people, postmodern design is synonymous with the Memphis Group. This Italian collaborative created the most radical and attention-getting designs of the period, upending most of the accepted standards of how furniture should look. Today, the Memphis Milano brand, which is managed by Alberto Bianchi Albrici, still produces designs created by the group between 1981 and 1988.
The Memphis story begins in 1980, when Ettore Sottsass, then a beacon of Italian postmodernism, tapped a coterie of younger designers to develop a collection for the Milan Furniture Fair the next year, determined that all the new furniture they were then seeing was boring. Their mission: Boldly reject the stark minimalism of the 1970s and shatter the rules of form and function. (Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, designed in 1970, embodied many of what would become the collective’s postmodern ideals.)
The group decided to design, produce and market their own collection, one that wouldn’t be restricted by concerns like functionality and so-called good taste. Its debut, at Milan’s 1981 Salone del Mobile, drew thousands of viewers and caused a major stir in design circles.
So as a record of Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile” played on repeat, they took their name from the song, devised their marketing strategy and plotted the postmodern look that would come to define the decade of excess — primary colors, blown-up proportions, playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art. A high-low mix of materials also helped define Memphis, as evidenced by Javier Mariscal’s pastel serving trays, which feature laminate veneer — a material previously used only in kitchens — as well as Shiro Kuramata’s Nara and Kyoto tables made from colored glass-infused terrazzo.
An image of Sottsass posing with his collaborators in a conversation pit shaped like a boxing ring appeared in magazines all over the world, and Karl Lagerfield furnished his Monte Carlo penthouse entirely in Memphis furniture. Meanwhile, members like Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Kuramata, Paola Navone, Peter Shire, George Sowden, Sottsass and his wife, journalist Barbara Radice, went on to enjoy fruitful careers.
Some people think of the Milan-based collective as the design equivalent to Patrick Nagel’s kitschy screenprints, but for others Memphis represents what made the early 1980s so great: freedom of expression, dizzying patterns and off-the-wall colors.
Eventually, the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990s minimalism, and Memphis fell out of fashion. Sottsass left the group in 1985, and by 1987, it had disbanded. Yet decades later, Memphis is back and can be traced to today’s most exciting designers.
“As someone who was born in the 1980s, Memphis at times feels like the grown-up, artsy version of the toys I used to play with,” says Shaun Kasperbauer, cofounder of the Brooklyn studio Souda. “It feels a little nostalgic, but at the same time it seems like an aesthetic that’s perfectly suited to an internet age — loud, colorful and utilizing forms that are graphic and often a little unexpected.”
Find a collection of Memphis Milano seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Metropole Clock, by George Sowden for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, George Sowden, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Metropole Clock in plastic laminate, designed in 1982, George Sowden. George Sowden was born in Leeds, UK in 1942. He studied architecture at Gloucestershire College of Art in the 1...
Plastic
Neos Wall Clock 2 George Sowden Nathalie du Pasquier Postmodern
By George Sowden, Nathalie du Pasquier, Memphis Milano, Lorenz
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Neos clock designed by George Sowden and Nathalie du Pasquier in the 80s. Neos is the brand run by Lorenz clock company in Italy. They were designed a lot o...
Plastic
$936 / item
H 20.48 in W 7.88 in D 11.82 in
Italian Ceramic Vase Red Model by George Sowden for Superego Editions.
By George Sowden, Superego Editions
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Red ceramic vase of the RedYellowBlack collection designed by George Sowden and produced by Superego Editions. Limited edition of 50 pieces. Signed and numbered. Biography George J. Sowden is a designer with experience in various fields of Industrial Design activity. These range from the development of mass-produced electronic products, to handmade low volume artisan objects, including ceramics glass textiles and carpets. His first working experience in Italy was with Ettore Sottsass. He collaborated with Olivetti for more than 20 years and was one of the founder members of Memphis. He has been consultant to Olivetti, Alessi, Bodum, Fratelli Guzzini, Lorenz, Memphis, Moulinex, Post Design, Pyrex, Rancilio, Steelcase, Swatch, Segis, Tefal, Telecom Italia, IPM, and others. He established SowdenDesign in 1981 through which he develops his consultant activities as an Industrial designer, whilst maintaining collaborators in the studio with which he develops his experimental/research work. SowdenDesign products have been published in many books on design...
Ceramic
$468
H 7.09 in W 5.91 in D 2.37 in
Handcrafted Memphis style desk clock made from copper, Netherlands 1980s
By Memphis Group, Ettore Sottsass
Located in ECHT, NL
Hand crafted table clock. The housing has been hand made from copper plate and opper wire. The details are painted in primary colors giving it the distinctive Memphis "look" and fee...
Copper
Vintage Museum Wall Clock by Nathan George Horwitt for Howard Miller
By Howard Miller, Nathan Horwitt
Located in San Jose, CA
Mid Century Modern museum wall clock designed by Nathan George Horwitt for Howard Miller Clock Company, Zeeland Michigan. Encased with an eggshel...
Metal
Posmodern Mantel Clock by Michael Graves for Alessi, 1980s
By Alessi, Michael Graves (b.1934), Memphis Milano
Located in Lille, FR
Michael Graves, the renowned American architect and one of the leading figures of Postmodernism, created for Alessi a series of objects that translated his architectural language int...
Plastic, Wood
Lorenz Nicolai Canetti Postmodern Memphis Wall Clock
Located in San Diego, CA
1980s Postmodern Memphis wall clock designed by Nicolai Canetti for the "ARTime Collection" Featuring a black frame and colorful geometric hands. S...
Plastic
1980s Memphis Style Red Triangle Base Desk Clock
By Memphis Milano
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A perfectly designed 1980s Memphis Milano-inspired desk clock with a black triangular base, red plastic case, and black and white squiggle face. Looks like it could've been designed...
Plastic
Danese Milano Kuno Prey Concrete Clock, 1986
By Danese Milano
Located in Meer, VAN
Danese Milano Kuno prey concrete clock. Italy, 1986. This is a very rare post-modern concrete clock designed by Kuno Prey for the Milanese company Danese....
Concrete
1980s Postmodern Desk Clock by Shohei Mihara for Wakita
By Nathalie du Pasquier, Wakita, Shohei Mihara, George Sowden
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A fantastic Japanese postmodern vintage desk, mantel, or shelf clock by Shohei Mihara for Wakita. (This design can also be found with markings from NEOS, the clock company that spec...
Metal
$936 / item
H 22.05 in W 7.88 in D 11.82 in
Italian Ceramic Vase Yellow Model by George Sowden for Superego Editions
By George Sowden, Superego Editions
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Ceramic vase Yellow model of the RedYellowBlack collection designed by George Sowden and produced by Superego Editions. Limited edition of 50 pieces. Signed and numbered. Biography George J. Sowden is a designer with experience in various fields of industrial design activity. These range from the development of mass-produced electronic products, to handmade low volume artisan objects, including ceramics glass textiles and carpets. His first working experience in Italy was with Ettore Sottsass. He collaborated with Olivetti for more than 20 years and was one of the founder members of Memphis. He has been consultant to Olivetti, Alessi, Bodum, Fratelli Guzzini, Lorenz, Memphis, Moulinex, Post Design, Pyrex, Rancilio, Steelcase, Swatch, Segis, Tefal, Telecom Italia, IPM, and others. He established SowdenDesign in 1981 through which he develops his consultant activities as an industrial designer, whilst maintaining collaborators in the studio with which he develops his experimental/research work. SowdenDesign products have been published in many books on design...
Ceramic
$936 / item
H 22.45 in W 5.91 in D 11.03 in
Italian Ceramic Vase Black Model by George Sowden for Superego Editions.
By George Sowden, Superego Editions
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Black ceramic vase of the RedYellowBlack collection designed by George Sowden and produced by Superego Editions. Limited edition of 50 pieces. Signed and numbered. Biography George J. Sowden is a designer with experience in various fields of Industrial Design activity. These range from the development of mass-produced electronic products, to handmade low volume artisan objects, including ceramics glass textiles and carpets. His first working experience in Italy was with Ettore Sottsass. He collaborated with Olivetti for more than 20 years and was one of the founder members of Memphis. He has been consultant to Olivetti, Alessi, Bodum, Fratelli Guzzini, Lorenz, Memphis, Moulinex, Post Design, Pyrex, Rancilio, Steelcase, Swatch, Segis, Tefal, Telecom Italia, IPM, and others. He established SowdenDesign in 1981 through which he develops his consultant activities as an Industrial designer, whilst maintaining collaborators in the studio with which he develops his experimental/research work. SowdenDesign products have been published in many books on design...
Ceramic
$1,053
H 16.54 in W 16.54 in D 1.19 in
Large Glass Postmodern Memphis Milano Wall Clock by Bino, Italy 80s
Located in Lucija, SI
Large Postmodern Memphis Milano wall clock produce by Bino Italy. Made in glass Unique piece
Glass, Plastic