Philippe Starck

PHILIPPE STARCK (Paris, 1949)
Pair of "Costes" armchairs, c.1980.
Stained wood and black leather seat with metal legs.
Shows wear to the upholstery and some losses to the backrest.
Measurements. 80 x 44 x 45 cm (x2).
Pair of Costes armchairs with a black painted tubular steel frame and a curved ebonized oak plywood shell. This model was designed for the Parisian café of the same name, which is no longer in business, and owes its success to its form: a huggable dark wood frame and three sloping legs.
Starck is the son of André Starck, an aeronautical engineer who has often inspired Philippe's work. He studied at the École Nissim de Camondo in Paris. While working for Adidas, Starck created his first industrial design company, Starck Product, which he later renamed Ubik, after the Philip K. Dick novel, and began working with manufacturers in Italy (Driade), Alessi, Kartell and internationally, including Drimmer in Austria, Vitra in Switzerland and Disform in Spain. In 1983, then French President François Mitterrand, on the recommendation of his Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, chose Starck to renovate the president's private apartments at the Elysée Palace. The following year he designed the Café Costes. Starck's output expanded to include furniture, decoration, architecture, street furniture, industry (wind turbines, photo booths), sanitary ware, kitchens, floor and wall coverings, lighting, household appliances, office equipment such as staplers, utensils, tableware, clothing, accessories, toys, glassware, graphic design and publishing, food, and vehicles for land, sea, air and space.