Ettore Sottsass: Italy’s king of anti-design

Martin Holman | The Florentine | 29th April 2026

The Bauhaus dictum that ‘form follows function’ was de-throned in 1981 by the Memphis Design group. It’s co-founder, Sottsass, had used his architecture training to produce designs in ceramics, furniture and then (with Olivetti) typewriters. In each area he pursued the idea that design should not just be functional but also speak to human emotions. That meant radical designs, bright colours and inexpensive materials. With the iconoclastic Memphis, he “rewrote the language of industrial design”.