Biography — Philippe Starck

Born January 18th, 1949, in Paris, France, to Andre Starck, an airplane engineer, and Jacqueline Lanourisse.
Starck's father probably inspired his young son to follow his chosen career path.
In the 1960s he studied at the Ecole Nissim de Camondo in Paris, but he is mostly self-taught.
In 1968, he started a company that produced inflatable objects.
In 1976, he designed the interior of the Paris nightclub La Main Bleue.
In 1978, he founded the "Starck Product" company.
In 1982, he began designing furniture and interiors for the French President Mitterrand, which launched in career and made him world famous.

Since then his resume looks something like this (from philippe-starck.com):

Café Costes. Paris, France (1982)
Manin Restaurant. Tokyo, Japan (1986)
Café Mystique. Tokyo, Japan (1986)
Concert Hall La Cigale. Paris, France (1987)
Royalton Hotel. NewYork, United States (1988)
Paramount Hotel. New York, United States (1990)
Teatriz Restaurant. Madrid, Spain (1990)
Groningen Museum. Holland (1994)
The Peninsula Restaurant, Hong Kong, China (1994)
Delano Hotel. Miami, United States (1995)
Theatron Restaurant. Mexico City, Mexico (1995)
Mondrian Hotel. Los Angeles, United States (1996)
Asia de Cuba Restaurant. New York, United States (1997)
Saint Martins Lane Hotel. London, Great Britain (1999)
Mikli glasses shop. Paris, France (1999)
Bon Restaurant. Paris 16ème , France (2000)
Sanderson Hotel. London, Great Britain (2000)
Hudson Hotel. New York, United States (2000)
Clift Hotel. San Francisco, United States (2001)
Miramar Hotel. Santa Barbara, United States (in progress)
Eurostar train (in progress 2001/2003)

Architecture
Knife factory Laguiole. France (1988)
Nani Nani building. Tokyo, Japan (1989)
Baron Vert building. Osaka, Japan (1992)
Asahi building. Tokyo, Japan (1989)
Private buildings. Los Angeles, United States (1995/1996)
Private Houses. Paris, France(1987/1994). Madrid, Spain (1995)
Individual house sold by mail order. 3 Suisse mail order catalog, France (1995)
Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD). Paris, France (1995)
Air traffic control tower for the Bordeaux Airport. Bordeaux, France (1997)
Moondog. Tokyo, Japan (1990) (in progress)
Rue Starck. Issy, France (1991) (in progress)
Condominiums. Los Angeles, United States (1995/1996) (in progress)
Incineration Plant. Paris/Vitry, France (2004) (in progress)

Design
Furniture for the Presient of the French Republic
Furniture and objects edited in France (X0), Italy (Baleri, Cassina, Driade, Fiam, Kartell), Spain, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, America.

Industrial Design
Bathroom suite. Rapsel (1984)
Alessi (1986)
Boats. Bénéteau (1987/1995)
Vases. Daum (1988)
Lighting. Flos (1988)
Toothbrush. Fluocaril (1989)
Bathroom suite. Duravit, Hansgrohe, Hoesch, Axor (1991)
Urban furniture. Jean-Claude Decaux (1989/1993)
Olympic Flame. Olympic Games Albertville (1992)
Eye glasses. Mikli (1996)
Toys for children. Big
Moto 6.5. Aprilia ( 1996)
Starcknaked. Wolford (1998)
Catalogue Good Goods with La Redoute (1998/1999)
Eau Saint Georges. Mineral water bottle (1998)
Seven Eleven. Stationery products in Japan (1998)
OAO bio products (1998)
Ultime Franc. (2001)
Wrist watch. Fossil (2001)
Target products. United States (2002)

Artistic Diector for Eurostar train (2001)
Worldwide Artistic Director for the THOMSON CONSUMER ELECTRONICS GROUP from 1993 to 1996
representing the brands RCA, Nordmende, Saba, Général Electric, Thomson, Telefunken, Ferguson, Brandt.

Professor in the Domus Accademy Milan, Italy
Professor in l'Ecole des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, France

Exhibitions
Georges Pompidou Museum. Paris, France
Arts Décoratifs Museum. Paris, France
Villa Medicis. Rome, Italy
Museums of Munich, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf. Germany
Museum of Modern Art. Kyoto, Japan
Museum of Modern Art. United States
Design Museum. London, Great Britain
Vitra Design Museum. Basel, Switzerland
Vanity Case. (1997) Exhibition travelling around the world. Barcellona, Glasgow, Helsinki - (2002) Moscow, Turin, Warsaw
Cenro Georges Pompidou (febbraio 2003)

Awards
Oscar du luminaire (1980)
Awarded three times at the Neocon of Chicago (1986)
Delta de Plaia à Barcelona (1986)
Platinum Circle Award of Chicago (1987)
"Grand prix National de la Création Industrielle" in France (1988)
3 Awards in the USA for the Royalton and Paramount Hotels in New York
Decorated "Officier des Arts et des Lettres" by the President of the French Republic
Design-Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen award in Germany for DURAVIT bathroom (1995)
"Primero Internacional de Diseno Barcelona" (1995)
"Harvard Excellence in Design award" (USA) (1997)
Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des des Lettres (1998)
Chevalier dans l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (2000)
Pratt Institute Black Alumni Award (2001)
Compasso d'Oro Italy, (2001)

The sheer number of works is one reason why some consider him to be the most famous designer in the world.
On Good Goods:
"I … tried to find, collect, correct, or create (when necessary) objects which are honest, responsible, and respectful to people. Not necessarily beautiful objects, but good objects … After research and selection, very few products could meet my stringent standards. Yet, although the ones I approved were still far from my ideal of perfection, they did convey a certain spirit: an alternative direction, a new way of being.

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