A Life in Color: The Radical Vision of Ettore Sottsass Ettore Sottsass, born in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1917, was more than just a designer; he was a cultural provocateur who shattered the conventions of mid-century modernism. His journey began steeped in architectural tradition—his father, also named Ettore Sottsass, was a prominent figure within Italy’s rationalist architecture movement. Growing up in Turin during the rise of Fascism, young Sottsass absorbed the principles of functional design but would ultimately rebel against its austere rigidity. His early education at Politecnico di To…