Slinky, kinky, and plastic. These are the descriptors that Joe Colombo's version of a utopian space-age future calls to mind. In the 1960s, sci-fi fantasies gave rise to molded curves, tubular furniture, and synthetic fabrics. The Italians and Scandinavians were at the forefront of the design revolut

Fantastic, Playful, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Quirky, Round

Known as the experimental and uncompromising bad boy of post-war Danish design, Verner Panton pushed the design envelope as far as he could. He used steel wire frames and molded plastic like no designer before him. And then there were the textiles. Panton created total atmospheric experiences; his fa

Biomorphic, Bubblicious, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Psychedelic, Round, Trippy

A child of Modernism, Ettore Sottsass elevated the structures of design to new intellectual and philosophical levels. After receiving an architectural degree from the Polytechnic in Turin, Sottsass opened his own design studio, where he dabbled in furniture, sculptural projects, and the fine and appl

Excessive, Geometric, Hi-tech, Layered, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Round

We say that the French have a certain "joie de vivre," but Italians have something else more difficult to label. Italian culture couples a love of beauty with an ability to laugh at itself. The designs of Milan-born architect Alessandro Mendini embrace this attitude with their color and humor -- thou

Decorative, Funny, Ironic, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Repetition