| Ambra Medda | |
| Birth Date: | 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Rhodes, Greece |
| Website: | http://www.ambrameddaoffice.com |
| Nationality: | British, Italian, Greek, Austrian |
| Known For: | Design Miami |
| Occupation: | Design consultant |
Ambra Medda (born 1982)[1] [2] is a London based design consultant who is the co-founder and director of Design Miami. She also co-founded the design website L’ArcoBaleno and headed a department at Christie's auction house.
In 2005, Medda co-founded Design Miami with real estate developer Craig Robins and was the fair's director until 2010.[3] [4] The annual event began as a salon for Italian design.[5] A sister show, Design Miami Basel, was launched in Switzerland.[3] As director, Medda created partnerships with notable galleries, collectors and companies. After stepping down, she continued to sit on committees as a creative consultant for the fair.[6]
In 2013, Medda co-founded an e-commerce design website named L’ArcoBaleno.[7] [8] The site included collaborations with David Adjaye, Tom Dixon and Reed Krakoff.[5] [9] In 2015, she became Global Creative Director of the "20/21 Design" department at Christie's.[7] [8] Her department focused on auctioning design objects from the 20th and 21st century.[7] [8] In 2016, she founded Ambra Medda Office (AMO), a design consultancy firm where she advises clients such as Airbnb and Louis Vuitton.[10] [11] Medda is also involved with the Design Museum in London as a committee and trustee member.[10] [12]
Medda's other projects include curating an exhibit for Madrid artist, José María Cano in 2004[13] [14] and writing the book "Destination: Limited-Edition Design" in 2008.[15] [16] She collaborated with Fendi in 2009 for the project Craft Punk[17] and helped design a collection of handbags for Roger Vivier in 2014.[18] [19] [20] In 2018, she organized visits to the Villa Borsani for the Milan Furniture Fair in Italy.[21] [22]
Medda has been described as being an "icon of the style" by Madame Figaro.[23] Her design aesthetic has been interpreted by Alix Browne as "creating tension with unexpected combinations by mixing old and new".[17]
Medda was born in Greece, to a Sardinian mother and Austrian father, and later lived in London and Milan.[5] [17] [24] [23] Growing up, she attended auctions with her mother, who was a design dealer and co-founder of the Themes and Variations gallery in London.[25] [26] She studied "Chinese Language and Culture" and "Asian Art" at London University,[27] [26] and was previously married to American singer Damian Kulash.[28] [29] She currently lives in London with Edward Barber and their two daughters.[24]