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.
George Sowden follow artist Palace chair Memphis United Kingdom / Italy, 1983
By Memphis Milano, George Sowden
Located in Skokie, IL
George Sowden follow artist Palace chair Memphis United Kingdom / Italy, 1983 Dimensions: 34 1/2” h × 19 1/4” w × 19 1/2” d Materials: lacquered wood Condition: Very good vintage ...
Wood
Palace Wood Chair, by George Sowden for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, George Sowden
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Palace chair in colored lacquered wood, designed in 1983, by George Sowden. George Sowden was born in Leeds, UK in 1942. He studied architecture at Glou...
Wood
Palace Chair by George Sowden for Memphis, Milano, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black
By George Sowden, Memphis Milano
Located in Kansas City, MO
George Sowden for Memphis "Palace Chair", 1983. Multicolor form with arms. Completely original with very few signs of use.
Wood
$5,052Sale Price|55% Off
Bel Air Armchair by Peter Shire, Memphis Milano
By Memphis Milano, Peter Shire
Located in Milano, Lombardia
La poltrona Bel Air di Peter Shire, prodotta da Memphis Milano è un pezzo di design unico che rappresenta l'audacia e l'originalità del movimento Memphis. Questo esemplare è stato p...
Cotton, Wood
Roma Green Armchair, by Marco Zanini for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, Marco Zanini
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Roma Green Armchair in fiberglass with iridescent finish, designed by Marco Zanini in 1985. Marco Zanini was born in Trento in 1954. He graduated in architecture at the University o...
Fiberglass
$15,599 / set
H 28.75 in W 25.6 in D 25.6 in
Pair of Italian Armchairs by Gio Ponti for Casa e Giardino, 1930s
By Gio Ponti
Located in Paris, FR
A set of two Italian collectible vintage armchairs first designed by Gio Ponti for manufacturing company Casa e Giardino in the late 1930s. They have been reupholstered in a white fa...
Fabric, Mahogany
$2,400
H 30 in W 22.5 in D 18 in
Early Mid-Century Modern Spindle Back George Nakashima Straight Chair for Knoll
By George Nakashima
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A classic & very early George Nakashima design, the spindle back straight chair. This 1940's example is made of solid Birch with signature saddle seat. Probably refinished at some po...
Wood
$476Sale Price|20% Off
H 30.5 in W 31.5 in D 27 in
Post Modern Memphis Style Club Lounge Chair by Bernhardt
By Bernhardt
Located in New York, NY
Pure 1980's Postmodern, memphis influence lounge, arm chair. Gutsy tapered legs support the dramatic upholstered seat. Structurally sound and sturdy, unfortunately, the fabric shows ...
Upholstery, Wood
$12,409
H 40.56 in W 28.75 in D 31.5 in
Armchair "Fiorenza" designed by Franco Albini in 1952 for Arflex, Italy.
By Franco Albini, Arflex
Located in Wolfurt, AT
Armchair "Fiorenza," designed by Franco Albini in 1952 for Arflex, Italy. A highly collectible model produced for only one year by Arflex. This stunning pair of armchairs features sc...
Fabric, Wood
Armchair by Osvaldo Borsani / Tecno Milano 1955
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Berlin, DE
Armchair 'P72A' Osvaldo Borsani 1955 Founder with his brother Fulgenzio of Tecno, the architect Osvaldo Borsani designed most of Tecno's and italian design's icons, like the working...
Leather, Rosewood
$1,012 / item
H 30.52 in W 19.3 in D 20.08 in
Set of 4 Air chair in Black by Jasper Morrison for MAGIS
By Jasper Morrison, Magis
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Air-Family takes its name from the “air-moulding” technology that makes it possible to create highly resistant yet super-lightweight products out of polypropylene added with fibregla...
Plastic
$14,772 / set
H 24.81 in W 35.44 in D 33.47 in
Rare model "Bel-lami" Armchairs, Totti Laakso, Asko, 1970s
By Asko
Located in Helsinki, Uusimaa
Rare model "Bel-lami" armchairs (2 pieces sold separately), design Totti Laakso, manufactured by Asko, 1970s. Walnut frame, reupholstered with quality model Muru 471 -fabric by Lauri...
Fabric, Walnut
$4,700 / set
H 35.5 in W 19.5 in D 17.75 in
"Palace" Chair by George Sowden, Memphis Design, Painted Wood, 1983
By George Sowden
Located in Tinton Falls, NJ
Designed for the 3rd Memphis exhibition by George Sowden (UK), it is a melding of his memories of British Arts & Guilds (Macintosh, etc.) and a rectilinear homage to Gerrit Rietv...
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
$3,200 / set
H 29.5 in W 30 in D 34 in
1980s Memphis Style Slipper Chairs by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin, a Pair
By Memphis Milano, Milo Baughman
Located in Roanoke, VA
Baughman was inspired by the courageous young avant-garde designers known as the Memphis Group that burst on to the works stage in 1981 with a total disregard for the traditions and design tenants of restrained, idealized Modernism, Baughman designed a small collection of 11 colorful, post-modern pieces and convinced Coggin to put the collection into production by 1984. The unexpected designs made a splash upon their debut, with critics praising Baughman’s graceful and carefully considered take on the wild Italian ‘new design.’ The wider American audience and Coggin’s well-to-do yet conservative clientele did not take to Baughman’s experiment in exercising complete creative control. ''Only galleries bought it,'' Baughman told the NYT in the months after the collection’s release. Pieces from the 1984 Prisma collection are extremely difficult to come by. Literature: Oscar Fitzgerald, American furniture: 1650 to the Present , 2017. P 517; CH 19 Postmodern and AvantGarde Furniture...
Textile
$3,997 / set
H 29 in W 25.25 in D 38 in
Pair of Italian 'Memphis Design' Lounge / Garden Chairs by Castelli Ferrieri
By Kartell, Anna Castelli Ferrieri
Located in New York, NY
Comfortable, chic pair of Italian Mid-Century Modern lounge /club chairs / armchairs by Castelli Ferrieri for Kartell featuring both innovative design and a mix of recycled poly mate...
Steel
$2,400 / item
H 35.44 in W 23.23 in D 19.69 in
First Wood and Metal Chair, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Michele de Lucchi, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
The First chair in enameled wood and metal, was originally designed in 1983 by Michele De Lucchi. Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and graduated in architecture in Florence. During the period of radical and experimental architecture he was a prominent figure in movements like Cavart, Alchymia and Memphis. His architectural designs have been mainly for office buildings in Japan, in Germany, in Switzerland and in Italy. He has taken care of numerous art and design exhibitions and has planned buildings for museums as Triennale di Milano, Palazzo delle Esposizioni di Roma and Neues Museum...
Metal
KEM Weber Springer Armchair for Lloyd
By lloyd manufacturing co., Kem Weber
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Known as the “Springer” chair, the chairs sit on flat band chrome iron springs and function as rocking chairs. The chair retains its original chrome and with newly made cushions. ...
Metal
Otello armchair by Massimo Iosa Ghini for Memphis Milano
By Memphis Milano, Massimo Iosa Ghini
Located in Ravenna, IT
Armchair designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini for Memphis Milano in 1986, characterized by the particular shapes of its structural elements. uAn alternation of geometries, curves and point...
Steel