Kartell is taking the 10th anniversary of its famed Bourgie Lamp, the classical baroque silhouette preserved ironically in plastic designed by Ferruccio Laviani, quite seriously. Earlier this year, the Italian…
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Designers including Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola and Nendo have reinterpreted the Bourgie table lamp produced by Italian plastic brand Kartell to mark the design’s tenth anniversary.
Kartell invited fourteen designers to put their own spin on the plastic Bourgie lamp, originally designed by Italian designer Ferruccio Laviani in 1994.
He first created the lamp as a transparent polycarbonate copy of the one that sat on his desk, which had a traditional antique candelabra stand and fabric shade.
Ten years on, the group of designers have altered the shape, materials and function of the piece while keeping the essence of Laviani’s original.
“I have always supported and promoted the ‘remix’ concept, to explain that what I create is something that already exists but becomes something else through my revision of reality, my re-interpretation of things,” said Laviani.
Nendo turned the Bourgie lamp upside-down and used the inverse of its shape to create the silhouette for a cylindrical design.
A wireframe version with a CMYK LED lightsource was designed by Ludovica+Roberto Palomba.
Mario Bellini used two shades and three stems to turn it into a coat stand, while Patricia Urquiola took an element from the stand to form branches of a chandelier.
Philippe Starck wrapped the stand in bracelets and charms, Piero Lissoni created the lamp in paper and Christophe Pillet covered it in grey felt.
Other designers that participated included Tokujin Yoshioka, Rodolfo Dordoni, Eugeni Quitllet, Alberto Meda, Patrick Jouin and Front.
The designs were showcased at Kartell’s flagship showroom in Paris to coincide with the Maison & Objet trade fair last month.
They will also be exhibited during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan and ICFF in New York later this year.
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Kartell’s Bourgie lamp appeared first on Dezeen.
Maison&Objet 2014: Catalan designer Eugeni Quitllet has taken the silhouettes of famous modernist chairs and amalgamated them into the back of this bar stool.
Eugeni Quitllet‘s Masters Stool retains the sinuous forms of the chair he created with French designer Philippe Starck for Italian plastics company Kartell.
The three strands that form the back are derived from the recognisable outlines of Arne Jacobsen’s Egg chair, Charles Eames’ DSW seat and Eero Saarinen’s Tulip design. These intertwined shapes create a back support and armrests that flow into the seat and legs.
“The stool version is available with longer legs, the seat is smaller, but the inimitable graphic hallmark of its frame coming from the interweaving of three silhouettes is the same,” said the designer.
The proportions of the original chair have been altered to incorporate the smaller seat and the longer legs are braced by a square ring close to the ground, which doubles as a footrest.
Available in a range of colours, the bar stool can be used both indoors or outdoors. It was launched at the Maison&Objet trade fair outside Paris, which finished earlier this week.
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into a bar stool by Eugeni Quitllet appeared first on Dezeen.
Bourgie is certainly one of the most recognizable lamps of the last decade—as well as one of the best sellers for famed Italian brand, Kartell. Designed by recordOutboundLink(this,…
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Italian plastic brand Kartell has released its first accessories collection of translucent bags with shoes to match (+ slideshow).
Better known as a furniture producer, Kartell has collaborated with designer Giorgiana Zappieri of fashion brand .normaluisa to create the range of plastic accessories.
Grace K drawstring handbags are made from translucent plastic with gold-coloured chain straps, named after actress Grace Kelly.
The bags come in black, coral, cream and gold, as well as a pair of two-toned variants including dove-grey and peach, plus bone and dove-grey.
Kartell’s first range of So K flat sandals with ankle straps is available in colours that match the handbags. Other shoes in the brand’s catalogue including ballerina pumps and platform shoes have been updated in new fluorescent tones.
Kartell’s move into fashion accessories follows the announcement that the brand will to open 50 flagship fifty stores across China over the next five years.
Furniture that resembles cut-crystal glasses by Tokujin Yoshioka and the world’s largest single-piece injection moulding by Philippe Starck are the most recent products for Kartell we’ve featured.
Earlier this year, Dezeen spoke to the head of Kartell and new president of Milan’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile trade fair Claudio Luti about his plans to rebrand the event. We recently chatted to Patrizia Moroso about the state of Italian design and how Milan is “sitting in the past”.
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The brand sent us the information below:
Kartell is proud to announce its presence at Super with a stand dedicated to its collection of Kartell à la Mode accessories.
For Spring Summer 2014, Kartell is launching its first handbag, “Grace K”, designed in collaboration with .normaluisa designer, Giorgiana Zappieri. The timeless shapes of the so-called “drawstring bag” are given new life through the transparency of plastic combined with glittering gold-coloured chains for the strap. The name Grace K is obviously a tribute to the undisputed style icon Grace Kelly, bearing testimony to a relaxed elegance that’s never showy.
Grace K will be available in monochromatic versions in black, coral, cream and gold, and in two two-toned variants: dove-grey/peach and bone/dove-grey. These last two models sport contrasting shades on the top and bottom of the handbag, a duotone that is adorned with a coral-coloured drawstring on the first version and a black one on the second.
In addition to Grace K, we are also introducing So K, the catalogue’s first flat sandal to complete the already wide range of footwear. So K is available in four colours: black, gold, peach and coral. With a simple shape and minimalist design, So K adapts to lots of different occasions of use, adding a colourful and ironic, but always discrete touch to any look.
These two new items for next summer join Kartell à la mode classics which have been given new colours to keep up with the latest trends: Glue Cinderella ballerinas will be available in two new two-tone versions: fuchsia/lime and petroleum/lime. And the soft Lady platform shoes with be highlighted with fluorescent tones, in the same colours as the Cinderella ballerinas, and with two new, even softer, models in black/smoky and dove-grey/peach.
Our regular models are also available alongside our very latest items: Glue Cinderella ballerinas by .normaluisa and Bow Wow by Moschino, Lady platform peep-toe sandals with plateau sole by .normaluisa and Super Bow by Moschino, as well as Sofia boots and Demi Sofia ankle boots, both designed by .normaluisa, and also available in Metal and Wild versions.
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by Kartell appeared first on Dezeen.
News: Italian furniture brand Kartell has announced that it will launch 50 flagship stores across China in the next five years.
Kartell has partnered with Chinese luxury goods company Gold Bond Enterprises, which is helping to manage Kartell’s rapid expansion in the country.
The first store opened in Beijing on 30 May and was designed by Kartell’s artistic director, Ferruccio Laviani, to “emphasize the quality, high design content, richness of materials and glamour associated with the brand.” New stores are scheduled to open in Shanghai and Chengdu over the summer.
“China, because of its size, importance and the complexity as a market required a targeted and wide-ranging plan,” said president and managing director of Kartell Claudio Luti, adding that the partnership with the Chinese company would help to “achieve concrete results in both the residential and the contract areas.”
“I feel that we need to promote Italian creativity around the world,” Luti told Dezeen in an interview last month, when he criticised Italian design companies for failing to invest in overseas expansion in the past, claiming the furniture industry made a “big, big mistake” by staying small and family-oriented while Italian fashion companies “decided to go and sell everywhere in the world.”
Luti has also taken on the presidency of Milan’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile, and told Dezeen about his plans to improve the visitor experience to the world’s most important furniture fair by clarifying its brand and tackling overpriced hotels and transport chaos in the city.
Founded on the production of laboratory equipment and best known now for innovative use of plastics in furniture, Kartell presented several new products in Milan this year, including furniture by Philippe Starck created using the world’s largest single-piece injection moulding and a plastic stool by Tokujin Yoshioka that resembles cut crystal – see all stories about Kartell.
While Kartell looks to expand, design brands around the world are looking for ways to tackle the industry shifts that production in emerging countries including China has generated. Watch our Dezeen and MINI World Tour movie report from Milan in which designers including Tom Dixon and Marcel Wanders talk about the race to keep ahead of skilled copyists.
See all of our stories about China.
Here’s some more information from Kartell:
Kartell in China – 50 single brand stores in 5 years
Kartell announces an intense schedule of single-brand store openings: 50 flagship stores over 5 years in the biggest centres of the Chinese market. The announcement marks the beginning of a partnership with Gold Bond Enterprises, a leader in the Chinese luxury sector. The first city to see the partnership take form is Beijing, where the Kartell flagship store and showroom opened on Thursday, 30 May 2013, in the Sanlitun Village. Summer openings are planned for Shanghai and Chengdu.
Milan, 14 June 2013 – Kartell is pleased to announce that it recently inaugurated its first single-brand store on Thursday, 30 May 2013 in Sanlitun Village as part of the agreement with the Chinese company, Gold Bond Enterprises.
The Beijing flagship store is the first to have a new luxury look designed by Ferruccio Laviani exclusively for Kartell. The design was created specifically to emphasize the quality, high design content, richness of materials, and glamour associated with the brand. Architects, clients and contractors will also be able to see the entire collection in the nearby 400 square-metre showroom.
The Beijing flagship store is only the first of a long series, and by summer 2013 there will be two more openings in Shanghai (at the APM department store, opening soon, and at the Kerry Center) and one in Chengdu at the ICF Mall.
According to Claudio Luti, President and Managing Director of Kartell, “China, because of its size, importance and the complexity as a market required a targeted and wide-ranging plan. That is why we decided to join forces with a Chinese company, a leader in the luxury sector, such as Gold Bond Enterprises, with a 10-year agreement which will allow us to enter this market with the best approach. The GB Kart Ltd. is the result of the joint venture and will represent our brand and distribute Kartell products (rigorously Made in Italy). We are confident that through these synergies we will achieve concrete results in both the residential and the contract areas.”
Linda Lin, President of Gold Bond Enterprises, adds “Gold Bond Enterprises Ltd. and Kartell have combined their experience and created GB Kart Ltd. which will develop a single brand retail plan together with Kartell and will distribute its products exclusively in China.” Thanks to Linda Hong Lin’s extensive experience in distribution and Claudio Luti’s continuous design research, this joint venture is an important step in introducing Kartell’s iconic and glamour design to the Chinese market. And it will offer a unique experience to Chinese consumers who are always on the lookout for the latest in Italian excellence.
About Kartell
A leading design company, founded by Giulio Castelli in Milan in 1949, and today under the leadership of Claudio Luti, Kartell is one of the companies that has symbolised Made in Italy design for over 60 years. A success story told through an incredible series of products: lamps, furniture, accessories, and interior design items made of plastic which have become part of the domestic landscape if not veritable icons of contemporary design. Today Kartell has a sales network with 120 single brand stores, 200 shops-in-shop and more than 2500 retailers throughout the world.
About Gold Bond Enterprises
Gold Bond Enterprises Ltd was born out of the passion for style and design. The Chinese company established and headed by Linda Hong Lin since 1993 is a leader in the luxury goods sector with a long line of successes in positioning and development of various prestigious Made in Italy brands in a highly competitive market such as the Chinese one. The mission of Gold Bond Enterprises Ltd. has always been to select the companies representing Italian excellence and to make them an integral part of the life of Chinese consumers who are keen for the latest, for elegance and for style. Gold Bond Enterprises Ltd. now has 10 of the most prestigious Italian brands and a sales network of about 130 direct single brand stores in China and Hong Kong.
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over the next five years appeared first on Dezeen.
In the 25 years since taking the reins at Kartell, owner and CEO Claudio Luti has collaborated with nearly every industrial designer of note, transforming the over 60-year-old company into the king of polycarbonate furniture and…
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Milan 2013: Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka presented plastic furniture that resembles cut-crystal glasses for Italian brand Kartell at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile last week.
The Sparkle stool and side table by Tokujin Yoshioka have ridges that gently curve around the sides and fan out across the tops, giving the furniture a twisted appearance.
“Sparkle shines by refraction of light from the prism effect like a crystal glass,” says Yoshioka.
Kartell is famous for plastic products and also launched a sofa by Philippe Starck that’s the largest single-piece injection moulding in the world on its stand at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile. See all our stories about plastic furniture by Kartell.
Yoshioka meanwhile is known for transparent objects and has previously created a see-through armchair and set of almost invisible tables for Kartell, plus an installation with hundreds of transparent plastic sticks. See all our stories about design by Tokujin Yoshioka.
See all our stories about design at Milan 2013 »
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for Kartell appeared first on Dezeen.
Milan 2013: French designer Philippe Starck recalled childhood memories of his aunts and uncles when designing this family of furniture for Kartell, shown in Milan this week.
Philippe Starck cites nostalgia and sentimentality as his main influences for the collection: “My family of Kartell ‘uncles and aunts’ is the minimalist technological version of the armchairs and sofas where my uncles and aunts used to sit smoking their pipes or knitting by the fireplace in total peace and serenity.”
“Times have changed and so has furniture, but our dreams are always the same,” he adds.
Each member of the Aunts and Uncles series, for Italian brand Kartell, is made of polycarbonate and has been created using single-mould injection technology.
The furniture includes the Uncle Jack sofa, the Uncle Jim armchair, the Uncle Jo chair, the Aunt Jamy table and the Aunt Maggy console.
Each piece comes in a range of colours and the collection was shown at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile.
Starck recently collaborated with Peugeot to design a prototype bicycle crossed with a scooter for a free cycle scheme in Bordeaux, France – see all design by Philippe Starck.
See all news and products from Milan 2013 or take a look at our interactive map featuring the highlights of the week’s exhibitions, parties and talks.
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for Kartell appeared first on Dezeen.
From the very beginning of Kartell’s history plastic and design have been the mantra. Founded by Giulio Castelli, a chemical engineer, the Italian furniture brand is the most influential proponent of plastic industrial design, building a sizable following through quality production processes and design contribution by innovative designers. The…
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