Once upon a time, the inimitable Chanel and Chloe designer Karl Lagerfeld lived in an apartment in Monaco that was entirely decorated in Memphis decor.
If you’re not familiar with the Memphis movement, you’ve likely seen it in the form of one of Ettore Sottsass’ insanely covetable mirrors endlessly regrammed on Instagram. The Memphis Group (Memphis Milano) was an Italian design and architecture group founded by Ettore Sottsass. It was active from 1981 to 1988. The group designed Postmodern furniture, lighting, fabrics, carpets, ceramics, glass and metal objects.
It was the early 1980s, and Lagerfeld was just beginning to get in his prime with his early Chanel collections. A unique aesthetic was something that was obvious, something that he, a collector through and through, decided to take beyond fashion and traverse into a total lifestyle too.
During this time, the German magazine Mode und Wohnen (Fashion and Living) documented the designer’s Memphis design inspired interior. There were fantastic couches in primary colors, cabinets constructed of abstract geometric forms, and certainly no shortage of ’80s shapes. Let there be squiggles and waves. And don’t miss the Memphis themed TV!
Even as an infamous collector, Lagerfeld would often give away his personal belongings as lavish gifts, or sell them. The end of the Karl Lagerfeld Memphis design period would unfortunately comes to a close when Sotheby’s held an auction of Lagerfeld’s Memphis collection in 1991.
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