
Since 1872, the company has been writing its success story, which was decisively influenced by star designer Arne Jacobsen. Fritz hansen Furniture by Fritz Hansen is, of course, part of the leading architecture in the world at its time.These characteristics would later become the trademark of postmodern design and influence the Memphis movement. In prototypes and manifestos, the Italian designer explored the cultural potential of design and presented kitsch, irony and wrong proportions as a reaction against perfectionist aesthetics of modernism. The claim was now that design objects provoke the intellect and should challenge the perception of the users. Once again, the Anti-Design movement with Ettore Sottsass at their head turned against the impersonal industrially manufactured, materialistic consumer products, which had dominated the first half of the decade. Warm, soft, amorphous and colourful, the modules could be changed, so as always to create new perspectives. With his Visiona II Fantasy Lanscape, Verner Panton created a space, which broke down the traditional conventions and the geometry of the floor, ceiling and walls. The Anti-Design Movement - Design Against Materialistic Consumer Products In design, this development was expressed with a neo-organic, psychedelic style, which replaced the geometric shapes. Technological progress not only brought forth enthusiasm, but also concerns as the Cold War fuelled fears of a nuclear disaster. Students worldwide were taking measures against outdated power systems and the blatant materialism of consumers was seen as critical. The late '60s - revolt, rebellion and politicizationĪs Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969, the attention of the youth had already moved on to other topics. The lightweight, flexible 60s like the Sacco Beanbag by Zanotta reflected the youth's fascination with mobility and light heartedness. The Pop Art movement was not alone in its desire for a new aesthetic that was deliberately ephemeral, mass-produced, humorous and ironic. People started to reject the structured tailoring of the fashion industry, and values such as stability and functionality no longer had a primary role to play. Essentially, going against the establishment and its traditional taste was paramount. Imaginative forms, bright colours and new materials in interior design were in demand, as were alternative lifestyles, hallucinogenic substances and pop music. This optimism was driven by technological progress, economic recovery and a young, well-paid generation that longed not only for emotional, but also visual sensuality.

Instead of 'no experimenting', the motto in the design world was now 'everything is possible'.

While the solid, unemotional, functional design of the fifties was defined by the war years, the 60s looked forward to the future. To put it another way, the 1960s was the decade in which design definitively established itself as a force that moved all strata of society, influenced their buying decisions and found a natural, identity-determining place in everyday society. They left their tracks in the world of design, too - creating fresh ways of thinking and releasing unbelievable creativity. Political, social, cultural and aesthetic upheavals left no-one unaffected. The wall and the moon landing, Beatlemania and miniskirts, student protests and Woodstock - the 1960s was a decade of unprecedented change.
