The Memphis Group was an influential Italian design and architecture movement of the 1980s.

The group was founded by Ettore Sottsass on 11 December 1980, and resolved to meet again with their designs in February 1981. The result was a highly-acclaimed debut at the 1981 Milan Furniture Fair . The group disbanded in 1988.

Named after the Bob Dylan song Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, the movement was a reaction against the post-Bauhaus "black box" designs of the 1970s and had a sense of humour that was lacking at the time in design. Prepared to mix 20th century styles, colours and materials, it positioned itself as a fashion rather than an academic movement, and hoped to erase the International Style where post-modernism had failed.

While designers such as Philippe Starck were influenced by Memphis, the continuing rise of minimalism in the 1990s saw a return to seriousness.

References

• Article about the Memphis Group
• Guardian article about the impact of Memphis