Born in Innsbruck in 1917, Ettore Sottsass graduated from the Turin Politecnico in 1939 and in 1947 moved to Milan where he worked as an architect and designer. In 1980 he established. Sottsass Associati with Aldo Cibic, Matteo Thun, and Marco Zanini. One year later, he launched the Memphis group, which with its non-conformist aesthetic left an indelible mark on Italian design.