First Chair by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano, 1983

Celebrated for his thoughtful, radical, and experimental body of work, Italian architect-designer Michele De Lucchi has been an influential voice in the international design scene from the 1980s until today.

De Lucchi was born in Ferrara in 1951 and studied architecture in Padua and Florence, graduating in 1975. During his time as a student, he collaborated with Cavart, a group of like-minded radical designers in Padua, and later joined Studio Alchimia in Milan at the invitation of architect-designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007).

In 1980, under the direction of Sottsass, De Lucchi cofounded postmodern design group Memphis, alongside his colleagues Martine Bedin, Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Shiro Kuramata, Javier Mariscal, Alessandro Mendini, Luciano Paccagnella, Nathalie du Pasquier, Barbara Radice, George Sowden, Matteo Thun, and Marco Zanini. Inspired by Pop Art and looking to disrupt business-as-usual in the design industry, the group created pieces in clashing, bold color combinations and surprising, conceptually-driven shapes. Their first exhibition in 1981 launched the group into international notoriety. For Memphis, De Lucchi designed Crystal Table (1981), Lido Sofa (1981), Oceanic Lamp (1981), and First Chair (1983), among others. The group disbanded in the late ’80s

In 1990, De Lucchi founded Produzione Privata, a small-scale production and retail company through which he created objects using various arts and craft techniques. From 1992 to 2002, De Lucchi was the Director of Design for Olivetti, where he developed many experimental products and worked on various projects for Compaq Computers, Philips, Siemens, and Vitra. In 1998, he founded the architectural studio aMDL, with offices in Milan and Rome.

De Lucchi has collaborated with many renowned, global design companies, such as Alias, Alessi, Artemide, Baccarat, Hermès, Kartel, Riva 1920, and Dèvres, among others. Notable designs include Tolomeo Lamp for Artemide (1987); Segmenti Office Series for Kartell (1988); and OFX1000 Fax (1995), Echoes 20 Notebook (1995), and Art Jet 20 Printer (1999) for Olivetti. De Lucchi’s architectural merits are vast, from his Trunk Office Building in Pforzheim (2009-2012) and the Pavilion Unicredit in Milan (2013-2015), to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and Patrol Police Headquarters in Tbilisi (2006-2009).

De Lucchi’s work can be found in many museums worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Triennale di Milano, and the Neues Museum Berlin. Over the course of his career, De Lucchi has received numerous awards, like the Premio Compasso d’Oro ADI in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, and 2001; the Golden Fleece Order (2009); and the Presidential Order of Excellency from Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili (2010). In 2015, he was named the Designer of the Year by Architektur & Wohnen.

* Images courtesy of aMDL Archive

Launched in Milan in 1980, Memphis was a design collective that aimed to disrupt the status quo of the design industry. Led by architect-designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), these designers conceived and produced era-defining furniture, ceramics, and lighting that disregarded the tenets of modernism in favor or forms and ornamentation infused with historical and pop culture visual vocabularies.

According to legend, in late 1980, Sottsass was in his Milanese apartment with a group of young designers—including radical designer and Alchimia member Michele De Lucchi (b. 1951)— discussing how bourgeois and irrelevant design had become. The 1966 Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again was playing in the background. Together they decided to create a collection of new work full of vitality and in tune with times. They enlisted production work from cabinetmaker Renzo Brugola, a showroom from Mario and Brunella Godani, and financial backing from Ernesto Gismondi, president of Artemide. Over the years, prominent Memphis designers would include Martine Bedin, Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Shiro Kuramata, Javier Mariscal, Alessandro Mendini, Luciano Paccagnella, Nathalie du Pasquier, Barbara Radice, Peter Shire, George Sowden, Matteo Thun, Masanori Umeda, Marco Zanini, and Marco Zanuso Jr.

Memphis’s first exhibition took place on September 18, 1981 at Milan’s Arc ’74 and launched the group to international notoriety. The provocative, postmodern pieces designed for the exhibition featured bold colors and unconventional shapes; many were coated in mismatched, patterned laminates—a material specifically chosen for its connotation of cheapness. The first Memphis collection included Sottsass’s Beverly Cabinet, Tahiti Lamp, and Carlton Bookcase; Sowden’s Oberoi Armchairs; du Pasquier’s 1950s-style, pink and black textile print; Bedin’s Superlamp; and de Lucchi’s Oceanic Lamp.

The group went on to hold more exhibitions in London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York, and Milan. Sottsass left in 1985 to resume his architectural role at Sottsass Associati. In 1988, the group disbanded. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Alberto Bianchi Albrici bought the Memphis-Milano brand and has continued to the produce classic Memphis designs ever since.

While always controversial, Memphis has an immense influence on the course of design history. In the 2010s, the Memphis aesthetic has seen a revival across creative disciplines; Memphis’s recent influence, for example, can be seen in Christian Dior’s 2011 fall haute couture collection, Missoni’s 2015 winter collection, and a number of exhibitions presented during Milan Design Week in 2013 and 2014.

* Special thanks to Memphis-Milano and Dennis Zanone, an avid collector of vintage Memphis, for images.