Philippe Starck, born in 1949, is one of the most influential designers in the world. His career boasts a wide range of projects ranging from interior design to household objects, from yachts to watches, so much so that in the 80s – at the age of only 31 – he was called the first star-designer in history. He also worked as an architect, designing numerous venues in Paris, New York and Tokyo including clubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels.
Philippe Starck: the stories behind his works
In the early 2000s, Philippe Starck declared, “For twenty years I created objects that could be bought by as many people as possible, against the elitism of design. Now I want ecology to be within everyone’s reach.”
An eclectic and unpredictable mind, he won prestigious awards such as the Grand Prix National de la Création Industrielle and the Honor Award of the American Institute of Architects for the Paramount Hotel in New York. To shed light on a creative path full of productions (there are about 10,000 objects) and successes, the editorial staff of Elle Decor has selected 10 iconic objects by Philippe Starck.
Let’s find out together what they are:
APRILIA MOTÓ 6.5, 1995
In the 90s, Aprilia, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Noale, in the province of Venice, was enjoying the success generated by its scooters. It was precisely in this period that Ivano Beggio, at the head of the company since 1968, dreamed of giving life to an eternal icon of design and decided to hire the French Philippe Starck, to create the equivalent of the “Vespa” or “Fiat 500”.
Philippe Starck imagines a totally gray bike, in which the frame, plastics and cables are the same color. The bike does not stay on the road, the center of gravity is too low (because of the monumental muffler under the engine), the frame flexes and at high speed the bike sways. Everything has to be done again, at least for the chief test driver. But Beggio does not want to listen to reasons: Starck’s project cannot be touched. And with some minor revisions, the Motò was presented at the 1994 Motor Show. “The bike must be beautiful”: what was then a flop, today is a cult object.
THE PRIVATE APARTMENTS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC AT THE ELYSÉE PALACE, 1982
The commission comes at the dawn of Philippe Starck’s success, who in 1979 has just founded Starck Product, with the aim of producing and marketing his works. His consecration to the general public came when the then French President François Mitterrand commissioned him to design the furnishings of some rooms of the private apartments of the Elysée.
Philippe Starck’s juicer is undoubtedly the most representative object of the French designer’s revolutionary work. Designed for Alessi in 1988, this object made of die-cast aluminium brings together the importance of functionality and the aesthetic factor of a design product. The long, slender legs and clean lines give the object an appearance that goes beyond the reason for which it was created, to the point of being exhibited at the MoMA in New York as a work of art.
THE ARÀ LAMP, 1988
Designed by Philippe Starck and produced by Flos Italia in 1988, Arà is a lamp that illustrates the company’s desire to combine the creative talent of great designers and high technology. The lamp consists of a circular chromed steel base that contains a lead counterweight and the rod that supports the adjustable horn-shaped head. A curiosity: the name of the lamp is a tribute to the birth of Starck’s daughter.
Designed by Philippe Starck and produced by Flos Italia in 1988, Arà is a lamp that illustrates the company’s desire to combine the creative talent of great designers and high technology. The lamp consists of a circular chromed steel base that contains a lead counterweight and the rod that supports the adjustable horn-shaped head. A curiosity: the name of the lamp is a tribute to the birth of Starck’s daughter.
Designed by Philippe Starck and produced by Flos Italia in 1988, Arà is a lamp that illustrates the company’s desire to combine the creative talent of great designers and high technology. The lamp consists of a circular chromed steel base that contains a lead counterweight and the rod that supports the adjustable horn-shaped head. A curiosity: the name of the lamp is a tribute to the birth of Starck’s daughter.
Designed by Philippe Starck in collaboration with Eugeni Quitllet, a Catalan designer, Kartell’s Masters chair was created as a tribute to the most famous design chairs. In the object, an interweaving of hybrid lines evokes three classics of contemporary design: the Tulip Armchair by Eero Saarinen, the Eiffel Chair by Charles Eames and the Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen. Despite the quotes, what comes out is a new and unique object.
The Groninger Museum opened in 1874, but in the 1990s the design of a new location began. Philippe Starck, Alessandro Mendini and Coop Himmelb(l)au are called in for the occasion, working individually on three different pavilions that reflect the idea of postmodern architecture. The works were completed in 1994.
Designed for Kartell, the Louis Ghost chair is one of the best-selling chairs in the world. Designed in resistant, stackable plastic, in different colors and shapes, Queen Elizabeth also sat on her. Philippe Starck draws inspiration from the royal chairs of Louis XI of France, simplifying the shapes and giving life to an object that has become a design cult.
D’E-LIGHT, 2011
As proof of how Philippe Starck has always been decidedly in step with the times, in 2011 he designed D’E’-Light, a lamp-lectern for smartphones or tablets. Die-cast aluminium head, extruded aluminium stem, zamak base to allow stability. The object, with a double soul, allows (by placing them on top) to recharge the devices.
THE LUXURY YACHT A (SAILING YACHT), 2015
Designed for Russian millionaire Andrey Melnichenko, the luxury yacht “A”, is the largest sailing yacht in the world. Launched in 2015, it is 142.8 meters long with a tonnage of 12,600 tons, has a 100-meter-high mast and sailed emerges from the sea like an eight-storey building. Starck designed a large swimming pool and an underwater observatory on the keel, with 30 cm thick glass, while the choice to insert bombproof glass and 40 CCTV cameras guarantees total safety.
STEVE JOBS’ YACHT VENUS, 2012
In 2012 Steve Jobs has a secret dream. The commission goes to Philippe Starck who secretly begins working on Venus. It is not the only nor the last time Starck has come into contact with Apple. 80 meters long, the yacht was designed with a carbon and aluminum alloy outer hull with a metallic and luminescent bow, very similar to the material with which Apple’s computers and early iPods were made. It took about seven years to give life to Steve Jobs’ dream boat who, as often happened to him with Apple products, changed his mind and asked the designers for a restyling. As fate would have it, Steve Jobs, who died in October of the same year, would never see his dream come true.
