Indie Icons: Memphis Design
A Memphis-style living room.
In this series, we’d like to give you a little primer on those icons – musicians, artists, designers, that are often cited by fashion designers, and editors, as inspiration behind collections, and editorials.
Who: Memphis Group
What: An art and design movement active in the 1980’s.
Fans: J.W. Anderson, Missoni, Miuccia Prada, Phoebe Philo at Celine, Karl Lagerfeld, Peter Pilotto, Donatella Versace, Sergio Rossi, Bill Gaytten.
Memphis wallpaper designs.
Tell Me More: The Memphis group consisted of architects, furniture designers, industrial designers, and graphic designers, that were fed up with the minimalist style that had become the norm after the popularity of the so-called International Style of architecture, which was characterized by open spaces, surfaces devoid of any decoration, and materials like glass and steel. Led by Italian architect Ettore Sottsas, the designers rejected the guiding principle of modernist design “form follows function,” and encouraged the use of color, unusual materials, and approached their designs with an ironic point of view. They were basically waving a giant middle finger to the design establishment and what was deemed to be “good taste,” like the punk rockers of the design world.
A design by Ettore Sottsas, 1983.
Their work immediately caused a stir, and polarized the design community who either “got it,” or thought it was absolute garbage. As it happened, the aesthetic was a perfect companion the 1980’s culture at large, mirroring the hodge podge of influences – from 1950’s kitsch to Futurism – that eventually became the iconic look of the decade. The group eventually disbanded in 1988.
Their aesthetic continues to inspire designers to this day, most recently J.W. Anderson, whose Fall 2015 collection featured oversized earrings, belts and shoes with geometric shape details, materials like purple lurex, brown leather, and silver chains, all mixed in together. Missoni’s fall offerings also hinted at the Memphis movement, with fabrics that resembled marble surfaces mixed in with the signature Missoni zig-zags, as well as lurex and other shiny surfaces that were totally ’80s in style.
A design by Ettore Sottsas, 1982.
Signature Style: Memphis style is known for its use of bright colors, and geometric shapes, and a desire to fill all available spaces with a bright color or a print, like a marble patter, a wave, or zig-zag lines. Remember the opening sequence to Saved by the Bell? It’s all pure Memphis.
Related: J.W. Anderson’s Eighties Flashback
Related: Indie Idol: Kim Gordon
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