There is such a language to his work; stylish while being utilitarian, fresh while being classic, and brilliantly creative. I keep wondering how his mind works, in how many directions it must pull him, what his wife must feel living with a complete genius and if his children feel like they can never match his standard or whether his employees freeze when he calls them into his studio to discuss work because how do you tell Philippe Starck what you really think about design? Perhaps I'm over-thinking this.
In any case, here are a few of my favourite Starck designs.
THE JUICY SALIF, 1990
This polished aluminium juicer for Italian kitchenware company Alessi achieved cult status and is now in New York's Museum of Modern Art. For the tenth anniversary of this design, apparently 10,000 Juicy Salifs were individually numbered and gold-plated. Naturally, these are much coveted collector's items now.
WW STOOL, 1991
This varnished sand-cast aluminium stool was designed for filmmaker Wim Wenders' office. It was made for people who preferred standing to sitting but still needed some support. Swiss furniture design group Vitra continues to produce this design.
UN ULTIME FRANC, 1999
Before the introduction of the Euro, France commissioned this award-winning commemorative Franc shaped like a wave. This was designed by Starck in collaboration with The Paris Mint. One side of the coin has a numeric '1' and the other has 'un ultime franc' or 'the ultimate franc'. Definitely a collector's item.
LOUIS GHOST CHAIR, 2004
This armchair is made of moulded polycarbonate in the Louis XV baroque style. While very delicate looking, it's supposed to be scratch-proof and weather resistant. Incidentally two of these chairs were featured on Ugly Betty in 2010, as part of Wilhelmina's office. Bet you didn't 'see' them. Ha.
BAOBAB DESK, 2005
The inspiration for this desk, as the name suggests, was the Monkey Bread Tree of Africa, also called the Baobab. The tree is traditionally a place for meeting and communication, and the shape of the desk is based on the seed of the Baobab. Again, this was made for Vitra and remains a classic design.
MISTER KNORR STOOL, 2008
Philippe Starck famously called these porcelain stools 'oversized chicken soup cubes made of gold and platinum' (they're finished with gold or platinum).
Not too shabby for a 1000 euros.
MARIE COQUINE CHANDELIER, 2011
A cheeky and rather risky interpretation of French crystal company Baccarat's famous Zenith chandelier, this design never fails to amuse me. I keep thinking this the Starck version of giving snooty Baccarat the finger (an umbrella over the Zenith!) but we'll never know because this limited edition set of 120 pieces is all sold out. It looks incredible, don't you think?
FINALLY ALONE, 2012
Who wouldn't want a candle stand as stunning as this in their life?
This plastic see-through parallelepiped is based on Archimedes’ principle (buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid), pushing the candle up as long as it goes over.
See what I mean? Philippe Starck is an iconic designer. If you want to see more of his work head over here. Oh, and just so you know, he listens to a lot of Bollywood music. That explains the colour palette!
Oh wow! I want to know all about Philippe Starck now! Another great piece, Roy!
ReplyDeleteGary
Haha go check his work out, Gary :)
DeleteI'm sure you'll like it. And thank you!
Hmmmm...while many of his designs are a bit quirky for my taste, and sometimes for pure shock value, I do believe he has that combination of brilliance+radical thought+ and a shrewd business sense. Sometimes I think he's a sell out.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything wrong with bringing good design to the masses, or 'commercializing it' as some say. If it remains exclusive and pricey, it becomes the privilege of a few. He's doing great work, and some of it is more affordable than the rest.
DeleteIn any case, when it comes to money, everyone's a sell out!