LA Gets Starcked!
A Tête à Tête with Philippe Starck
Indisputably the most famed designer of our time, French born Philippe Starck recently declared, “Design is dead.” Perhaps his era of designing toothbrushes, juicers and thousand-dollar Louis chairs is no longer but Starck design is definitely not extinct. Rather, it is exploding to a higher consciousness. Starck is to Los Angeles much as Michelangelo was to Florence, Italy: a man who shaped a city’s artistic heartbeat.
Wit and humor is de rigueur to experience the full impact of his latest evolution. He is the grand Master of Ceremonies of sorts at the SLS Hotel on La Cienega where he orchestrates an ethereal experience for guests. The main entrance is a fantastical world of a modern day Magic Castle complete with fortune-tellers and liquid nitrogen cocktails. And it’s no coincidence that SLS’ restaurant, the Bazaar, features legendary Chef Jose Andres’ cirque-du-soleil-for-the-taste-buds cuisine, which synergistically enhances the essence of play.
Frivolity and sparkles (a favorite adjective of Starck) is not where this power plant of creative energy stops. Wielding his influential design sword for the good of mankind in a white knight persona with his Democratic Design and Ecology line is what really seems to move him for the moment. What’s not to love about organic champagne and energy efficient devices that look as sleek as a MOCA exhibit?
Fabrik gets a rare peek into the mind, humor and nuances of Philippe Starck as we query him about Los Angeles, his impact on its landscape and what inspires him.
All entries filed under Interior Design
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Sam Nazarian’s newest Los Angeles venture, the SLS Hotel (which stands for Style Luxury Service), is the first hotel where Philippe Starck’s design is omnipresent in every detail. The Bazaar, the public open space lobby, offers shopping in the Moss gift shop, dining at Jose Andres’ four-star restaurant, socializing with friends in Bar Centro or [...]
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