My name is not Imago Montoya, thou if “you killed my father you should be prepared to die.” The line from the film Princess Bride is one that will never ever leave pop culture and has left a lasting and quotable meaning for so many. Not unlike the character that Mandy Patinkin plays in the film who introduces himself with such conviction and confidence, so does Philippe Starck. Philippe has designed some of the most famous places, people and things in our mid century. Nightclub design and his relationship with Ian Shrager has left more than an indelible wet spot on the sheets of boutique hotel design as well as the makers of things make. Pieces and parcels of his new reality show below as written by The Independent.
My name is Philippe Starck… I am a type of new bottle opener… I am a sort of door.” It’s hard to imagine Sir Alan Sugar going on like this at the start of The Apprentice without a severe ratings dip and a visit by men in white coats, but what the growly East End barrow-boy-made-good and the Gallic merchant of minimalism do have in common is that they both now front elimination reality television shows. The Apprentice we all know about. Starck’s new series, which begins on BBC2 tonight, is called Design for Life. The winner becomes part of Starck’s “tribe” (his somewhat cultish description of his Parisian design company) for six months, their triumphant concept given the opportunity to join the world’s most iconic orange-squeezer (the one that looks like a 1950s sci-fi movie’s idea of a space rocket) or those transparent Louis XV-style chairs that look as uncomfortable as hell.
“You make good design if you speak about life, sex, flesh, sweat. I shall open ze zip of myself and say ‘Now take what you want’.”
Passionate and busy. “He lives out of an aeroplane a lot of the time. But once he was pinned down he was fantastic to work with, he would turn up, usually on time, or if late he’d stay late. He took it very seriously, he engaged with the students on a one-on-one level, and he was always funny and entertaining. A lot of the time when hanging round to start filming he’d be sketching a pair of sunglasses or something. You can tell his mind is constantly working, working, working.”
I’ll bet this will be a good watch.