Carlton Bookshelf by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano

Launched at the founding Memphis exhibition in Milan on 18 September 1981, the Carlton is the absolute icon of the group: a room divider, bookcase and chest of drawers reorganised into something between sculpture and totem. Built from MDF clad in colorful plastic laminates, this post-modern masterpiece by Ettore Sottsass remains one of the most recognizable design objects of the 20th century.