Ettore Sottsass is credited as the founder of the Memphis Group, a collective of designers inspired by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s records, the ancient capital of Egypt, and the contemporary city in Tennessee.
Memphis debuted in 1981 at Milan’s Salone del Mobile. This group, involving other European designers such as Michele de Lucchi, George Sowden, and Nathalie du Pasquier, was driven by an ethos to challenge academic and traditional design principles by employing a vibrant use of colour, patterns, forms, and cheap materials.
During this time, Sottsass designed his Carlton (1981) bookcase, a playful shelf constructed from brightly coloured laminates. Contrary to the functionalist and modular approach of design at the time, this bookcase played with angles and shapes that allowed for books to lean tilted among its shelves. Sottsass also created a floor lamp, Treetops (1981), that experimented with geometric shapes and contours. He also designed glass vases and explored different fluid forms and silhouettes.
Sottsass Associati
Sottsass set up a design consultancy called Sottsass Associati in 1980. Primarily working as an architecture firm, they designed private homes and public buildings such as Milan Malpensa Airport in 2000. Sottsass Associati has also developed interior design furnishings such as chairs and sinks, the design identity of Alessi, a elaborate showrooms for brands such as Esprit. The firm is based in both Milan and London.
