Memphis: The One Who Made the 80s
- Aug 16, 2017
- 2 min read
This post is an article on the Memphis video here.
First things first. The Memphis design movement is not necessarily affiliated on the famed Tennessee town you always hear on country songs. In fact, its hub is at Milan, Italy - we'll get to that later.
Source: Rent Fluff
The year is 1981. A collective of designers gathered from across the globe, led by Italian architect Ettore Sottsass. They called themselves the Memphis Group, deriving the name from the lyrics of a Bob Dylan song that came on during one of their meetings.
They rejected the 'minimal and practical' design notion that boomed in the 1960s. There were no rules of design within the group, in contrast the modernism movement. The results were unexpected - bursting with colours and popping with personality. It made such a huge statement, that their first show in Milan was mistaken as a bomb attack by Sottsass himself.
If one shall describe the works presented in the show, it would be 'geometric', 'bright colours', and 'bold patterns'. The furnitures were cheekily named after luxury hotels (Bel Air, Plaza, Ritz, Sheraton). Karl Lagerfeld was a fan. However, they didn't perform well commercially. The group disbanded after 6 years in 1987, but that wasn't the end of the story.
Source: Design Milk
Memphis' visual vocabulary became a staple of the decade. 1981 saw the birth of MTV as well, which adopted the aesthetic to define their brand. Their influence is imminent in various pop culture entities. Today, the terms 'bold', 'pop', and 'colourful' are synonymous with the look of the 80s. We see fashion designers still carrying the Memphis effect and putting it into their collection, such as Sophia Webster. You can still find the aesthetic in contemporary works that appeared in Tumblr and Pinterest.
Lesson learned? Make a statement, it's going to be worthwhile.
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