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Memphis Milano Cabinets

Italian

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.

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Creator: Memphis Milano
Carlton Wood Miniature Bookcase by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Here you are shown an authentic and perfect reproduction of the Carlton bookcase, originally designed in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass. The vivid colors and...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Wood, Plastic

Ginza Wooden Robot by Umeda Masanori for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Masanori Umeda
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Ginza wooden robot with plastic laminate, shelves & drawers by Masanori Umeda for Memphis Milano collection Additional information: Wooden robot with ...
Category

2010s Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Plastic

Casablanca Wood Cabinet, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Casablanca cabinet designed in 1981 for Memphis by Ettore Sottsass, in wood and plastic laminated colors. This is an unlimited edition with a number...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Wood, Plastic

Gritti Bookcase, by Andrea Branzi for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Andrea Branzi, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Gritti bookcase in plastic laminate, wood, metal and glass. Designed in 1981, by Andrea Branzi. Andrea Branzi, architect and designer, born in Florence,...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Metal

D'Antibes Wooden Storage Cabinet, by George Sowden for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, George Sowden, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Designed in 1981 by George Sowden, The "D'Antibes" is a piece of storage furniture with long legs. Cabinet in lacquered wood silkscreened on the two sid...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Kampa bookcase by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Design
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano
Located in Ravenna, IT
The product in question is marked as 1stsample and is sold with a certificate of authenticity. Kampa is a three-element bookcase with table created by Ettore Sottsass as part of the ...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Post-Modern Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Steel

Wooden Roses Shelving #3 by H.J.Weinand for Memphis Milano
By Memphis Milano
Located in Ravenna, IT
Wooden storage cabinet with casters, designed by H.J. Weinand for Memphis Milan in 1992... Intermediate shelves are connected by wooden bottle silhouettes in different warm colors. T...
Category

1990s Italian Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Nosy Cabinet by Mimmo Paladino for Meta Memphis Milan
By Memphis Milano, Mimmo Paladino
Located in Ravenna, IT
Storage cabinet made by Mimmo Paladino for Meta Memphis, limited edition of 25 pieces. The central body consists of a double door cabinet, which can be opened by curved steel element...
Category

1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Iron

Amazon Cabinet, by Marco Zanini for Memphis Milano Collection
By Memphis Milano, Marco Zanini, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
The Amazon Cabinet in reconstituted veneer and lacquered wood, was originally designed in 1985 by Marco Zanini for Memphis Milano. Marco Zanini was born in Trento in 1954. He gradu...
Category

2010s Italian Modern Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Imperial Cabinet by Shiro Kuramata for Memphis Milano Collection
By Shiro Kuramata, Memphis Milano
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Imperial cabinet with internal shelf by Shiro Kuramata for Memphis Milano collection Available in silver, black and aubergine. In stock th...
Category

2010s Memphis Milano Cabinets

Materials

Hardwood

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Previously Available Items
Early Beverly Cabinet by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano 1981
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano
Located in Aachen, NW
We are offering an early and rare Beverly cabinet by Ettore Sottsass. Designed in 1981 and produced in the early years by Memphis Milano in Italy. In the same year, Sottsass founded ...
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1980s Italian Vintage Memphis Milano Cabinets

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Italian Sottsass Post-Modern Brutalist Paul Evans Lift Chest
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Memphis Milano cabinets for sale on 1stDibs.

Memphis Milano cabinets are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Memphis Milano cabinets, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 1 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 8 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original cabinets by Memphis Milano were created in the modern style in italy during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider cabinets by Cappellini, Chapel Petrassi, and Glas Italia. Prices for Memphis Milano cabinets can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $821 and can go as high as $14,124, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $9,200.

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