Howard Schatz: Interview with Philippe Starck

Like Charles and Ray Eames or Florence Knoll, Philippe Starck has one of those names that instantly shouts “Design!” Unlike the Eameses and Knoll, however, who are best known for furniture, interior, and office design, Starck is a designer with an almost unlimited range. In a long, distinguished career, Starck has fashioned everything from lemon squeezers to large yachts, from electric bicycles to wind turbines, from private homes to luxury hotels. Like other famous designers, he brings a new and often unimagined look to everything he designs. But as a rare talent in a field that requires renewing the look and function of things that have a traditional appearance, Starck has a vision that dramatically re-defines things that might have been thought as essentially unchangeable.

Not long ago, Starck and his fun, smart, and beautiful wife, Jasmine, spent most of a day at my studio for portraits and an interview.