The Design District
More from Milan ... a chat with Philippe Starck
Rachel here. If you missed the introduction and the first report from Milan, catch up here and here.
Now onto more from Damon, and his ridiculously exciting interview … I’m not jealous at all, by the way. I’m also never sarcastic. Seriously, though, enjoy this!
Thursday I had an interview with Philippe Starck. I set it up with his wife, Jasmine Abdellatif, at the SLS party the night before. Starck was there to support the new hotel he designed, SLS at Beverly Hills. Murray Moss was also there; he will be opening the gift shop. I wonder if it’ll sport DO NOT TOUCH signs, like his New York store does. Anyway, the venue for the party (a palace, mind you) was beautiful. The courtyard was dripping with wisteria, and it was directly across the street from Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper hangs. The editor for Vogue Italia was dressed in the dramatic headgear that you might expect on Isabel Blow.
I arrived at Hotel Baglioni and met Jasmine who greeted me while Starck finished up with another group. I asked him what he wanted to discuss, and he passionately began to explain that for him this year is not about fashion but about the real needs of the world. He has worked for years to democratize design by creating high quality and beautiful products for the masses. This year he was most excited to talk about democratizing ecology.
He is working with Pramac to create a revolutionary accessory for the home: Your own personal power-generating windmill that can be purchased for about 400 Euros (about $633). It’ll be a beautiful object, he said, but also functional, generating 20 to 60 percent of a home’s energy needs. This way, every person can participate in reducing their carbon footprint.
There will also be second quieter, less-showy version for people who still want to do some good, but don’t have to wear it on their sleeves. I love that he already has a way to capitalize on possible reaction against the first product.
I asked if the windmills will have distribution in America, but he said they hadn’t gotten that far yet. I’ve previously worked with Target to help them develop their front-of-store, or Main Street, concept. I also knew that he had done a product line for Target, so I suggested it might be a good fit, since they share many core values. He seemed to think it was a great idea, so if the windmills show up at Target, you know where the idea came from.
We also discussed his new chair, called My Ming and designed for xO Design. He explained that like his number-one-selling chair in the world, the Louis Ghost for Kartell, which highly appealed to the western culture, My Ming has struck the same chord with Asia. Maybe this has developed as a result of Starck’s work in Shanghai. He concurred, mentioning that China will be the new master of design, and Asian culture will influence western design in a way that has not been seen yet.
It was a joy to talk to someone very bright and very passionate about the world.
More later,
Damon
Note from Rachel: I saw this interesting article on Treehugger a while back. Harry Wakefield of MocoLoco responds to Philippe Starck’s statement: “I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact. Everything I designed was unnecessary. I will definitely give up in two years’ time.” So it seems like with this new windmill design that Starck is putting his design talent to more “necessary” things. If that’s the case, let’s hope he doesn’t give up in two years, as he asserts. That’s the point of good design, right? To make some sort of difference on the world around you?
Wakefield agrees, a little more, um, assertively: “Why don’t you devote that substantial talent and media savvy of yours to making stuff that’s smarter, more sustainable, and dare we say it, cool, in that gotta have it, materialistic way you know so well. Or is this really about clients who aren’t quite ready to make the big changes required to create the smarter, more sustainable, cool design? Greenwashing got you down? It’s not going to be easy. The world’s top two most populous countries are now getting a taste for said stuff, so we’re gonna make a lot more of it, most of it instantly disposable. You of all people could make a difference. Step up to the profession that served you so well, montre nous l’amour pour la planète Philippe.”
Perhaps Starck has heeded the advice.
