In my previous blog, we had looked at the Juicy Salif designed by Philippe Starck. To carry forward this theme of analysing product designs and understanding its importance, today we will be looking at the Louis Ghost Chair invented by Starck.
Philippe Starck has been an important figure in the design world since he first rose to prominence in the 1970s after designing Parisian nightclubs. His legacy is vast and widespread, but among his many accomplishments, one of the best-known is his iconic Louis Ghost chair. Priced at a modest 500 dollars apiece, it is an inexpensive piece of furniture that is essential in everyone’s home.
It obviously and absolutely is not.
But, is the price justified? Can I convince You by the end of this article that you should care about such a chair? A chair that is barely even visible?
Firstly and most importantly comes the inspiration of the chair. Contrary to its minimalistic and modern aesthetic, it is inspired by the historic Louis XVI chair, called the goût grec when it first caught on. It was a simple armchair popularised during the reign of Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette. How impressive is it to take one of the most important pieces of furniture design and convert it into your own translucent, modern chair that then has a stronger cultural and global impact?
What if I also told you that it is a single and unbroken piece? Kartell, the company that makes the chair, manufactures it from polycarbonate plastic. Unlike other moulded chairs, the Louis Ghost is exceptional because the plastic is injected into a single mould, meaning that the entire piece is made in one big swoop.
It is also designed to be used outdoors. Most of us would likely think twice before putting a chair that costs several hundred dollars out on the patio, but the Louis Ghost Chair is actually designed for indoor-outdoor use. The chair holds up well against the elements of nature, because it is made of plastic, and has no joints that could crack or warp from exposure!
Are you convinced that this thing is the coolest thing to ever exist?
My message to you at the end is to just be more observant of the way you interact and view products around you. Try your best to look at them as pieces of art. Bring out your inner designer and try to apprehend the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that go into creating simple and functional stationary on your table or bigger aesthetic products like the chair you’re comfortably seated on.
Citations:
https://www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/louis-chair/
https://www.housebeautiful.com/shopping/a25095748/ghost-chair-philippe-starck-louis-facts/
