Design Trends: Memphis

Put yourself back in the 1970s. Imagine the minimalist, straight and structured design that fit the status quo. Now enter Ettore Sottsass, a designer from Milan, Italy who gathered up a group of designers and architects for the sole purpose of breaking every rule about “good” design. They called themselves the Memphis Group.

You may be asking yourself why the trend is called “Memphis” if it was created in Italy. They took their name from the Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again. This song played over and over again during their first meeting.

This rebellious movement celebrated the unrestricted and free-spirited exploration of creative design. They wanted to shift their thinking to be “radical, funny and outrageous.”