The incredible life story of one of the 20th century’s most important designers, who knew everyone from Hemingway to Picasso.

Features anecdotes of his encounters with the biggest creatives of the time, and details of his influences and inspirations, documenting the contemporary design scene both in Italy and abroad.

Includes previously unpublished images.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Format: Hardback
Size: 234 x 156 mm (9 1/4 x 6 1/8 in)
Pages: 216 pp
Illustrations: 0 illustrations
ISBN: 9780714869537

Born in London, Deyan Sudjic studied architecture in Edinbugh, edited Domus magazine in Milan, was the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale and has been a curator in Glasgow, Istanbul and Copenhagen. He is now director of The Design Museum in London. His books for Phaidon include Living in the Endless City, and monographs on John Pawson, Jan Kaplicky and Shiro Kuramata. His most recent book, B is for Bauhaus was published by Penguin in 2014.

Contents and sections:

Introduction

Turin
Coming Close to the Edge
The War
Post-War to America
Olivetti to Apple
Radical Sottsass
Memphis
Sottsass Associati

Epilogue
Bibliography

'I have been obsessed with the Italian architect and designer Sottsass and the Memphis Group he found all my life. I love everything about Sottsass's work – it's modern, optimistic, humorous, functional and intelligent. The designs in this book make me feel proud to be Italian. ' —Donatella Versace on Ettore Sottsass

"Dudjic reads the career of Sottsass as a means of telling the story of 20th century design as a whole. ...the Memphis Group, which came to define postmodernism of the 1980s, has since influenced the look of everything from cushions to trainers. ...This lively narrative complements the exquisite Sottsass monograph published by Phaidon in 2014." —New Design

"this book is a gem of straightforward information and tall tales" —selectism.com

"Sudjic first met Sottsass after a party to celebrate the launch of Memphis in 1981, arguably one of the pivotal days in the colorful life of the Italian designer, and Sudjic's writing is informed by this personal connection" —Metropolis

'His greatness existed less in individual creations than in the space between everything he did. ' —The Guardian on Ettore Sottsass

"a pivotal figure in mid-20th century European culture" —The Quarterly