Is a Memphis Revival on the Horizon?

Good ole’ Memphis.

Tennessee. BBQ. Egypt. Texas. New York. Boz Scaggs. Interior design.

Umm…what?

If you’re not familiar with 1980s Italian architecture and design, one of these things may seem not like the others (and no, I’m not talking about Boz Scaggs). But trust me: once you see it, you won’t forget it. It’s rather unforgettable that way.

The Memphis Group

The Memphis Group was an Italian design & architecture firm founded in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass. Sottsass was in his 60s and his collaborators–who included Martine Bedin, Aldo Cibic, Michele De Lucchi, Matteo Thun and Marco Zanini–were all in their 20s. Barbara Radice, a writer, was also involved. George Sowden and Nathalie du Pasquier later joined, as well.

The Milan-based group designed “postmodern” furniture, fabric, ceramics, glass, and metal objects until 1987. Their style was defined by bold use of color and asymmetrical shapes and drew inspiration from Art Deco, Pop Art, Kitsch, and Futurism. Their goal was to experiment with unconventional materials, like plastic laminates, and liberate themselves from soulless design.

I can hear a lot of people saying, No! Laminate furniture and bold colors are tacky.

Maybe you’re one of them?

But hey, the 80s were a different time, man. And everything comes back in style…eventually (Full confession: I wouldn’t actually know. I’m a 90s baby).

If you’re wondering where a couple of Italians got “Memphis” from to name their movement (since laminate furniture and bold colors don’t seem quite…Memphis-y) it was inspired by a Bob Dylan song, “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again,” which they had listened to repeatedly throughout their first meeting on December 11, 1980.

From the rock n’ roll of American suburbs to the Pharaohs of Egypt, the name fit. And it stuck. And that is how Italy got its very own Memphis and put Sottsass into international fame.

Influence

You can view Memphis design as a kind of counterculture movement for which postmodernism is often associated: defying conventions and rejecting a rational order!

The group was active for only a short span of time: they produced and exhibited their designs annually from 1981 until 1988. Sottsass left in 1985, and the Memphis Group disbanded in 1991. It was sensational in and outside of the design community–Memphis was a manifestation of the obscure early-postmodern that played well with the media in an era dominated by post-punk.

Furniture Museum (Milan)” by Sailko is licensed under CC by SA 3.0

It’s Delia Deetz’s interior design in Beetlejuice, meets Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, meets the squiggles from the Rugrats opening sequence. If you’re inclined to think it’s visually similar to kindergarteners with building blocks, you’re probably not wrong with that comparison, either.

The geometric shapes, squiggles, and overly saturated/contrasting color palettes were a far cry from anything tasteful. Nothing about Memphis is elegant. In the eyes of graphic design, it’s obtrusive and illegible. From an architectural design standpoint, it’s just plain odd…and weirdly uncomfortable. But when you want to reject the clean, minimal lines of the slick 70s aesthetic, where else do you have left to go?

And that distasteful quality is part of what’s going to bring it back.

“Room view of part of a Memphis-Milano design collection” by Dennis Zanone is licensed under CC by SA 3.0

A Memphis Revival?

Whether Memphis design is experiencing a revival is a bit of debate–some don’t really believe that it ever left at all.

But even if revival isn’t the best term for whatever is happening, the styles put forth by the Memphis Group are certainly making their way deeper and deeper into the 21st century psyche.

“Kitsch” is super trendy nowadays when it comes to style and design. Sure, you could say the eclectic mismatching of furniture and the intentional mixing of clothes patterns is simply a product of the ongoing “hipster” trend popularized by so-called millennials (talking ‘bout my generation). However, the disregard for clean lines, elegance, and design “rules” is directly out of the Memphis handbook. So even if we got here unintentionally (or rather, never left the rebellious mindset of 80s and Memphis design), there is that connection.

If you’re looking to bring some of the good old Memphis style design into your life, I recommend buying some primary paint and maybe a couple of end tables from Ikea.

*This post originally appeared in a slightly different form on Curbappeal.house.