Volage Ex-S Coffee Table in Marble and Aluminium Base by Philippe Starck for Cassina

Born in 1949 in Paris, designer Philippe Starck has been described as a provocateur, a defender of democratic design, and “a superstar on the French design scene.” It’s said that as a child, Starck slept under the drafting table of his father, who was an inventor and aeronautics engineer. Starck went on to study at the École Camondo in Paris, but was later quoted as saying that he “learned nothing” there and was, instead, driven by his own curiosity.

Around 1968, Starck set up his own studio in Paris, with a special focus on inflatable designs; he collaborated with the master of blow-up furniture, designer Quasar Khanh. The following year, Starck debuted an inflatable structure at Salon de l’Enfance and caught the attention of fashion designer Pierre Cardin, who straightaway offered him an art director position. 

In the mid to late 1970s, Starck found success designing nightclub interiors, like La Main Bleue in Montreuil and Les Bain Douches in Paris. As the 1980s neared, Starck launched a company called Starck Product—later named Ubik after the Philip K. Dick novel—and began producing furniture, lighting, and accessory designs for major manufacturers like Alessi, Driade,  Flos, Kartell, and Vitra.

In 1983, Starck’s international design celebrity began to build when French president François Mitterrand invited him to renovate the private apartments of the Élysée Palace. Not long after, Starck began to receive regular commissions for restaurant and hotel interiors. Highlights from this phase of his career include Café Costes in Paris (1984), Manin in Tokyo (1985), Theatron in Mexico City (1985), the Royalton (1988) and Paramount (1990) hotels in New York City, and the Delano Hotel in Miami Beach (1995). In 1999, Starck partnered with developer John Hitchcox to launch Yoo, a design firm dedicated to residential and commercial interiors.

Starck is arguably the most prolific designer living today, and any listing of his many iconic works must be abbreviated. Among the standouts, however, you’ll find Miss Dorn Chair for VIA and later for Driade (1980); Pat Conley I Chair for XO (1983); J. Série Lang Chair for Driade (1986); Hot Bertaa Kettle for Alessi (1987); Miss Donna Mirror for OWO and later for Alessi (1987); Lola Mundo Chair for Driade (1988); Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer for Alessi (1990); W.W. Stool for Vitra (1990); Louis 20 Chair for Vitra (1991); Miss Sissi Table Lamp for Flos (1991); Vicieuse Coffee Table for Driade (1992); Excalibur Toilet Brush for Heller (1993); Jim Nature Portable Television for Thomson (1994); Rosy Angelis Lamp for Flos (1994); Dr. No Chair for Kartell (1996); Dr. Scud Fly Swatter for Alessi (1998); La Marie Chair for Kartell (1998); Miss C.O.C.O. Folding Chair for Cassina (1998); Gnome Stools for Kartell (1999); Bubble Club Sofa for Kartell (2000); Hudson Chair for Emeco (2000); Louis Ghost Chair for Kartell (2002); and Guns Lamp for Flos (2005).

In addition to furniture, electronics, and product design, Starck has tackled several larger-scale designs, like the Alhóndiga Cultural & Leisure Centure in Bilbao (2010), Port Adriano Harbor in Palma de Mallorca (2012), Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s yacht (2012), P.A.T.H Prefabricated Homes for Riko (2013), and Le Nuage Sports Center in Montpellier (2014), among many others.

Starck’s work can be found in most European and American museums, including the Musée National d’Art Moderne and Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, MoMA and the Brooklyn Museum in New York, Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, and Design Museum London. The Pompidou Center hosted a Starck retrospective in 2003. His many awards are too numerous to name.

Italian furniture manufacturing giant Cassina, originally named Amedeo Cassina, was founded by brothers Cesare (1909-1979) and Umberto (1910-1992) Cassina in Meda, Italy in 1927. Although initially specialized in bespoke woodworking and high-end interiors, by the 1950s the brothers took the company in a new direction, anticipating the growing demand for mass-produced home furnishings. Cassina is often credited with introducing industrial design to Italy and has built an international reputation for collaborating with some of the world’s most respected designers.

Notably, in 1964 (while famed architect Le Corbusier was still alive), Cassina signed the first exclusive licensing agreement covering the edition rights for designs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand. The company soon after launched the I Maestri Collection which over the decades has gathered major icons of design under the Cassina brand, such as the LC4 Lounge (1928) jointly designed by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand, as well as Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld’s 635 Red & Blue Armchair (1918), Scottish architect-designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House Chair (1902), and many more.

With a focus more on partnering with the best designers rather than creating and maintaining a particular style, Cassina is responsible for some of the most recognized and beloved designs of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Highlights include Italian architect-designer Gio Ponti’s Superleggera Chair (1957), German designer Konstantin Grcic’s Kanu Chair (2009), Iranian-British architect Zaha Hadid’s Zephyr Sofa (2013), and French designer Philippe Starck’s My World Sofa (2013).  Throughout its visionary collaborations with both design luminaries and cutting-edge experiments with new talents, Cassina has remained dedicated to the Italian design ideals of craftsmanship and quality, and the brand continues to excel in the fusion of industrial technology and artisanal production.

Cassina’s designs are included in permanent collections the world over, such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein) and London Design Museum.

Cassina is now a part of the prestigious Poltrona Frau Group.

* All images courtesy of Cassina.