Postmodern Design

By the 1960s, the sleek lines and unyielding functionality of mid-century modernism began to feel less like a design revolution and more like a creative straightjacket. A new generation of designers and architects craved a more expressive and historically informed approach – something infused with individuality, a touch of the unexpected, even a dash of the absurd.

This appetite for a richer design language found its genesis in several key moments, with the 1972 exhibition, "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape," at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) proving pivotal. Curated by Emilio Ambasz...