LOS ANGELES, Nov 30 — Philippe Starck is captivated by elegance. It runs like a current through the bold aesthetic of his myriad designs, from yachts to bicycles, watches and prefabricated houses. Currently in the headlines due to the news that his successful “Mama Shelter” hotel concept is heading Stateside in 2015, the French designer seems to be on something of a crusade to preach his message to the masses.
Mama Shelter Los Angeles will be the first exportation of the chain’s brand of laidback cool to the US. And it isn’t Starck’s only current travel project.
This fall the one-man brand turned his talented hand to the subject with the launch of the slick baggage line “S+arcktrip” with luxury brand Delsey.
“I wanted luggage that is elegant, lightweight and intelligent,” he explains. Is he nostalgic for the lost glamour of travel?
“These days, many of us sacrifice personal elegance due to the false notion that comfort is more important and is irreconcilable with elegance,” he concedes, holding up the example of tourists walking around Capri in “Crocodile Dundee” hats and women wearing “pyjamas” on short-haul flights.
“These individuals have a somewhat degenerate idea of travel that places comfort and elegance in opposition,” he expands. “But this elegance with a capital E is an integral part of the experience; it is the reflection of our relationship to ourselves and to others, it is a courtesy.”
If elegance is a form of politeness, then Starck is surely the most well-mannered of them all. When designing he keeps his “smart tribe” in mind—a clientele that shuns vulgarity and whom he sums up as: “people who have a clearer vision, a vision carried out with elegance and intelligence.”
But he places as much pressure on himself as his customers. “Going straight to the essential with elegance and intelligence is a duty when designing, it is a strong guideline that applies to everything and everyone,” he states.
Which other designers does he admire? He is dismissive. “I’m not very interested in design,” he says irreverently. “But Charles Eames remains a model of rigor and industrial intelligence; he is a reference.”
With a career spanning more than two decades, Starck has witnessed—and survived—the dramatic transformation of the design world into a full-blown industry. What is his secret? “To design timeless products, the designer must have a forward-looking and global vision. Someone like me, who designs a lot and has done so for a very long time, has the objectivity required to avoid the problems of immediacy, ego or blindness.”
Certainly in terms of creative output he is at the top of his league. This fall alone he has launched the Delsey baggage range, inaugurated his “Cloud” wellness center in Montpellier, France and unveiled his first prefabricated eco home PATH on the outskirts of Paris. Does he ever sleep?
“Since the age of 20, I haven’t stepped off the plane,” he laughs. At least now he’ll be accompanied on his journey by highly elegant suitcases. — AFP-Relaxnews
