“Design without humor is not human. The word ‘beautiful’ does not mean anything. Only coherence counts. An object, design or not, is primarily an object that meets the parameters of human intelligence, which reconciles opposites. The lack of humor is the definition of vulgarity. ” -Philippe Starck
A personal hero of mine and I’m sure of many other design enthusiasts out there, Starck has a way of turning the most mundane of items into practical design icons.
There probably isn’t a design area that Starck hasn’t explored, from hotels and restaurants to mega-yachts and lighting and everything in between, this living icon has shared with the world a sense of light-hearted creativeness that is sometimes forgotten in modern design/architecture.
When I initially joined the bathroom industry, the first thing that caught my eye was that Philippe Starck had designed numerous products for the bathroom. So you can imagine my hysteria when told our very own Marc (managing director of Candana) was to be in the presence of the great man for a product launch dinner in Germany last year. I sat with mounting anticipation as he retold the jokes and the way Philippe spoke so passionately about his designs and creations.
Over the years, Starck has designed many ranges for Duravit and Hansgrohe and his products never date or look over-done. One of our highest selling toilet suites till this day is the Starck 3 and the Axor Starck range of tapware is used throughout our own bathrooms and kitchens.
Jasper Eder (biographer) writes that ‘Philippe Starck is a tireless and rebellious citizen of the world’. A Perfect description of a man that will go down in history for his many achievements and we constantly look forward with baited breath to see what he’ll come up with next!
