Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
$2,486 / item
Nature Bronze Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Bronze Central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg. Also available in different colo...
Aluminum
$2,486 / item
Nature Navy Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature navy central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg. Also available in different colors...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Burgundy Double Left Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Burgundy Double Left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also availabl...
Aluminum
$2,486 / item
Nature Grey Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature grey central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg. Also available in different colors...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Black Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Black Double Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available ...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Grey Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Grey Double Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available i...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover White Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover White Double Central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W136 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in differen...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover Bronze Double Central Sofá by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover bronze double central sofá by MOWEE Dimensions: D 83 x W 136 x H 81 cm Material: Aluminium, Upholstery Weight: 27 kg Also available in different colours and finishes. A...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover Burgundy Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Burgundy double central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D 83 x W 136 x H 81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in di...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Burgundy Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature burgundy left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in di...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Bronze Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature bronze double right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Cream Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature cream left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in diffe...
Aluminum
$2,486 / item
Nature Burgundy Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Burgundy Central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg. Also available in different co...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Cream Double Left Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Cream Double Left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available i...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Chocolate Double Left Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Chocolate Double Left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also availab...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Salmon Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Salmon Double Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Bronze Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover bronze sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W160 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available in different colors and finishes....
Aluminum
$2,474 / item
Cover Black Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Black Central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover Black Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover black double central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D 83 x W 136 x H 81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in diffe...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Cream Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Cream Sofa by MOWEE. Dimensions: D83 x W160 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available in diff...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Black Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover black sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W160 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available in diff...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Navy Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover navy sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D 83 x W 160 x H 81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available in diff...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Chocolate Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Chocolate Left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in d...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Navy Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature navy left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in differ...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Grey Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature grey left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in differ...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature White Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature White Double Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available ...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Bronze Double Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Bronze Double Left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available ...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Navy Double Left Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature navy double left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available in...
Aluminum
$4,794 / item
Nature Grey Double Left Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Grey Double Left modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W144 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 29 kg. Also available in...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover Chocolate Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Chocolate Double Central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W136 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in diff...
Aluminum
$2,474 / item
Cover White Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover White Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE. Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 17 k...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover Grey Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Grey Double Central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W136 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in different...
Aluminum
$3,961 / item
Cover Cream Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Cream Double Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE. Dimensions: D83 x W136 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in differe...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Chocolate Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover chocolate sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W160 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available in different colors and finish...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Salmon Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Salmon Sofa by MOWEE. Dimensions: D 83 x W 160 x H 81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available i...
Aluminum
$4,615 / item
Cover Burgundy Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover burgundy sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W160 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 32 kg. Also available in different colors and finishe...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Bronze Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature bronze right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in diff...
Aluminum
$2,985 / item
Nature Navy Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Navy Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D85 x W76 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 19 kg. Also available in differ...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Bronze Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons bronze double right modular sofa by Mowee Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in differe...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Salmon Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Salmon double right modular sofa by Mowee Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in differe...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Grey Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Grey Double Right Modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in different...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Black Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons black right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: aluminium and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Also available in different colours ...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Burgundy Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Burgundy Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum and upholstery Weight: 19 kg ...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Navy Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons navy double right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in different...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Bronze Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Bronze Right Modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Al...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons White Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons White Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminium and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Also available in different colors a...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Grey Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons grey right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: aluminium and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Also available in different colours a...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Chocolate Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Chocolate Right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminium and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Also available in different colo...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Cream Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Cream Right Modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminium and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Al...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Cream Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons cream double right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in differen...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Salmon Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons salmon right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminium and upholstery Weight: 19 kg A...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Burgundy Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons burgundy double right modular sofa by MOWEE. Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in diff...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Navy Right Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Navy Right Modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Also...
Aluminum
$3,901 / item
Ribbons Cream Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Cream Double Central Modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W136 x H81 cm Material: Aluminum, and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in different colors and finis...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Black Double Right Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons black double right modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in differen...
Aluminum
$4,163 / item
Ribbons Salmon Double Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Salmon double left modular sofa by Mowee Dimensions: D83 x W148 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 29 kg Also available in differen...
Aluminum
$2,450 / item
Ribbons Chocolate Central Modular Sofa by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons chocolate central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm. Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg. Also available in different colors and finishes...
Aluminum
$2,450 / item
Ribbons Grey Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Grey Central Modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W68 x H81 cm. Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 17 kg. Also available in different colors and finishes. ...
Aluminum
$2,724 / item
Ribbons Black Left Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons black left modular sofa by Mowee Dimensions: D83 x W80 x H81 cm (seat height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum and upholstery Weight: 19 kg Also available in different colours an...
Aluminum
$3,901 / item
Ribbons Navy Double Central Modular Sofa by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Navy Double central modular sofa by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W136 x H81 cm Material: Aluminium, and upholstery. Weight: 27 kg. Also available in different colors and finis...
Aluminum