Munich/ Milan
. Two new and unique cars have been presented today
by BMW i and Garage Italia Customs to celebrate the Memphis Design
Group. It was a world premiere in the extraordinary setting of the
UniCredit Pavilion in Milan. With the exclusive BMW i MemphisStyle
interior and exterior Design on the BMW i3 and the BMW i8, Lapo
Elkann’s creative hub payed hommage to the visionary style of the
artistic and cultural movement that revolutionised the world of design
in the 1980s.
“Renewing the bond with BMW i is a great pleasure. I fully share
their vision of looking at the future and technological innovation as
the leading elements in any project.” – says Lapo Elkann, Chairman and
Creative Director of Garage Italia Customs. “Creativity, style and
innovation have always been the key features of all the work carried
out by my team in the field of planning and the study of design. This
collaboration has given me the opportunity to celebrate my great
passion for the Memphis artists. I have been collecting significant
works of art from this movement for quite a while and they surround me
and inspire me in my everyday life. I can’t help but be proud of the
result achieved by my creative hub. Once again, my designers have
beaten every expectation; they managed to transfer the real essence of
the Memphis Design onto these futuristic one-offs”.
The Memphis Group and BMW i
Founded in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass, the Memphis Group was an absolute
antithesis to functionalism and any commercial logic. It gave rise to
daring lines in furniture that was characterised by unusual materials
and original graphic patterns. The style was clearly provocative and
was inspired by movements like Art Deco and its surprising geometrical
shapes, Pop Art with its bright colours and Kitsch as a way to detach
from the minimalist design of the 70s.
Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President of BMW Group Design:
“During the nineteen-eighties, the Memphis Group questioned the formal
severity and classic functionality of design artefacts both in a
somewhat provocative and humorous manner. In this way, Memphis became
a symbol of contemporary design. With its design drafts, the Group
challenged existing dogmas, aroused emotions and created designs with
high recognition value.
The BMW Group pursued a similar approach when designing the BMW i
vehicles, questioning typical car design language, breaking new ground
and redesigning vehicles from scratch. Electric vehicles of the first
generation were predominantly intended to attract attention. We also
adopted a new approach with regard to materiality. For example, we
were the first car manufacturer to use carbon fibre reinforced plastic
as new material for industrial series production. We thank Lapo Elkann
for the creative and inspiring cooperation and are particularly
pleased that, with Michele De Lucchi, we have been able to gain one of
the founding members of the Memphis Group for this collaboration with
Garage Italia Customs.”
Michele de Lucchi remembers the early days and his reasons for
co-founding the Memphis Group:
“Memphis takes me back in time to my youth”, says Michele De Lucchi,
“the early years in Milan and especially me and many of my colleagues’
friendship with Ettore Sottsass. I was 28 years old and life was
different then. We wanted to break with the grand style traditions, to
be revolutionaries and prove that revolution is also possible through
the creation of objects and their presence. We wanted a new way to
define the meaning of our existence. At that time, today’s topics –
unsustainable lifestyle, post-post-modern readings, unwanted political
assimilations etc. were largely not yet there. However, we already
had the desire to stop the logic of rampant consumerism, and we wanted
to go deeper. Not with negativity, but with optimism; celebrating
decoration, and with a colourful sense of real involvement. In this
way, the core of Memphis, of what we did and what we desired, is timeless.”
BMW i MemphisStyle: Hypnotic patterns and bright colours
Oblique, horizontal and vertical lines along with hypnotic patterns
and vibrant colours are the main characteristics of the new liveries
created by Garage Italia Customs. A succession of sharp surface
contrasts that become pure expression of rebellion and liberation from
the rigid standards of traditional design. What catches the eye is
that every single element is perfectly aligned and the geometrical
shapes flawlessly follow the curves of the bodywork of the two cars.
The realisation was extremely meticulous and it required over five
weeks of work. Before the various painting phases, different masking
was applied to each car in order to create the patterns. There are as
many as eight layers of colour on the body which proves the complexity
of the entire process.
Both interiors clearly confirm and express the same break-through and
experimenting philosophy typical of the Memphis Design. The different
materials chosen for the upholstery (technical fabric,
Alcantara® and Foglizzo leather) are in strong contrasting
chromatic matches. Bright colours, from orange to purple, green and
yellow are the main features along with the tailored graphic patterns.
Every single element of the cabin thus becomes an integral part of the
artistic language that stirred the 80s and influenced design and decor
over the following years.
The MemphisStyle Edition BMW i3 and BMW i8 are unique pieces. Garage
Italia Customs offers the Design to BMW i customers upon request.
After the Premiere of the special edition at Salone del Mobile in
Milan, the BMW i8 MemphisStyle will be exhibited at Frieze New York 2017.
About Garage Italia Customs
Just as a tailor-made outfit follows the lines of the body
harmoniously, Garage Italia Customs aims at making any vehicle unique,
be it a car, a motorbike, a plane, a helicopter or a yacht. It
re-elaborates the clients’ very wishes with a service that involves
the study of detail, balance of the components and research of
materials. The équipe is made up of the best technicians specialised
in the field of wrapping, painting and upholstery of interiors. The
Style Centre, which is the pulsating heart of all the design
activities, it is a meeting place where the ideas of clients intersect
with the aesthetic taste of the experts of the Garage. While waiting
to move to Piazzale Accursio, the Garage Italia Customs operative
headquarters are located at 1 Alfredo Pizzoni street, Milan.