“Subversive, ethical, ecological, political, fun: this is how I see my duty as a creator.” Philippe Starck.
Despite his thousands of projects, global fame and his tireless inventiveness, never forget the essential. Philippe Starck has a mission and a vision: creation, whatever shape it takes, must make life better for the largest number of people possible. Starck believes that “No one is forced to be a genius, but everyone has to take part.”
From everyday products such as furniture and lemon squeezers, to revolutionary mega-yachts, micro wind turbines, electric cars, and hotels that aspire to be wondrous, stimulating and intensely vibrant places, Starck never ceases to push the boundaries and criteria of contemporary design.
With Starck Eyes (Mikli, 1996), he created revolutionary, ergonomic, “bionic” reading glasses inspired by the joints of the human body. He emphasises, glasses are neither a fashion accessory nor a mere frill, they fulfil an obligatory function. “In a world where we are suffocated by useless products whose only goal is to be sold, they belong in the fundamental sphere of everything designed and built for human advantage. With glasses, because its functioning is analogical to that of our bodies, the glasses suit the physiology of everyone better. Their movements are harmonious, they constitute an extension of the individual, and they disappear from our field of perception to blend into us.”
Visit the Starck Eyes website.
(The above was created with excerts from a biography by Jonathan Wingfield, January 2010)