Francesco Vezzoli Reimagines Karl Lagerfeld’s Memphis Apartment in New Exhibition

Acclaimed Italian contemporary artist Francesco Vezzoli’s third solo exhibition Karl Goes to Memphis is now open at Almine Rech Monaco, and it is set to be on view through May 24, 2025.

The exhibition revisits the early 1980s, when Karl Lagerfeld moved to Monte Carlo and chose to furnish his entire apartment in the Roccabella building exclusively with Memphis design pieces. (Despite the name that may call to Tennessee to some, these pieces come from the Italian Memphis Group, an architecture collective.) Founded by Ettore Sottsass in 1981, the Memphis movement was known for its bold colors, geometric shapes, and unconventional materials, transforming everyday objects into statements of design.

Lagerfeld was among the first to embrace the movement. His interest in Memphis was a natural extension of his multidisciplinary approach to creativity. Beyond fashion, he was also a photographer, publisher, and collector, with an influence that reached into the worlds of design, architecture, and pop culture. His legacy continues to shape how creativity and commerce merge across industries today.

With support from Memphis Milano, Vezzoli has recreated the atmosphere of Lagerfeld’s Monte Carlo apartment, using original pieces that once filled the designer’s home. Items on display include the Carlton bookshelf by Ettore Sottsass, along with works by Martine Bedin, George J. Sowden, Michele De Lucchi, Marco Zanini, and more. The exhibition also includes eight new embroidered portraits of Lagerfeld by Vezzoli, inspired by early photographs of the designer.

Speaking to the spirit of the project, Vezzoli described the 1981 meeting of Lagerfeld and Memphis design as “nearly impossible to find” in 20th-century art and architecture. "This exhibition seeks to create that utopian and surreal union," he said in a press release.