Philippe Starck's best lifestyle collaborations

A legend in the superyacht industry for penning the designs of Motor Yacht A, Venus and Senses, among others, Philippe Starck also has a long history of collaborations in the lifestyle industry. From high-tech gadgets and Champagne to fashion and interiors, click through to see some of Starck’s best lifestyle projects.

Starck furniture

With a strong track record in both yacht and private jet interior design, it seems only a natural progression that Starck should also turn his hand to furniture design. Over the years Starck has worked with some of the finest Italian furniture brands, including creating the iconic Generic chairs for Kartell, the innovative Lady Hio table for Glas Italia and chic sofas and armchairs for the likes of Cassina and Driade. These on-going collaborations are unveiled at Salone del Mobile in Milan each year, becoming a firm highlight of the fair, while Starck's latest collaboration with Kartell was revealed at the London Design Festival in September 2018. Building on his previous collaborations with the brand, the range comprised three chairs designed for both indoor and outdoor use including the Cara chair (pictured) which is unusual for Kartell in its use of upholstery and fabric.

If your budget doesn't stretch to commissioning Philippe Starck to create your own yacht perhaps a night in a Starck-designed hotel will suffice instead. Curio Collection, a hotel group owned by the Hilton brand, recently unveiled plans to build a 14-storey hotel in the French city of Metz designed in collaboration with Starck and featuring an 18th-century house on the roof. This unusual feature has been added to create synergy with the nearby Centre Pompidou Metz and will house a restaurant and lounge bar for use by guests staying in the hotel's 119 rooms.

In March 2018 luxury British car marque Bentley announced that it had teamed up with Starck and tasked the designer with creating a beautiful custom charging dock for its Bentayga Hybrid car. Starck, himself a fan and customer of Bentley for many years, created an elegant dock with a domed frontage created using sustainable materials including eco-linen, bio-sourced resin and aluminium. Designed for at-home installation, the Bentley by Starck Power Dock can be used in conjunction with a smartphone app and, when not in use, stands alone as a piece of sculptural art. Currently still at concept stage, the dock is expected to become available in the second half of 2018 when the first Bentayga Hybrids are delivered.

Following on from his previous collaboration with Champagne maker Louis Roederer, in 2017 Philippe Starck joined forces with Sébastien Blaquière, founder of Brasserie d’Olt, to create an exceptional organic beer. The S+ARCK IPA is brewed on the Aubrac plateau in France's Massif Central using organic ingredients from the region resulting in a delicate beer with notes of citrus, pineapple and exotic fruits. Starck also had a hand in designing the beer's stylish bottle which is produced in a 200-year-old factory in Albi. Want to try it for yourself? The S+ARCK beer is served in many of the French Riviera's top restaurants, including the Sailfish Cafe and Pinasse Cafe in Cap Ferrat.

Starck's second smartphone design (see next slide for the Mi Mix), Alo has been created in collaboration with fellow French designer Jerome Olivet and electronics company Thomson and completely reimagines the way mobile phones look and function. While still at the concept stage, a prototype is expected to be developed paving the way for a revolution in smartphone technology.

Alo does away with the basic rectangular shape we have become used to, instead replacing it with a screen-less, aesthetically pleasing aluminium form which projects 3D holographic images of messages, pictures, videos or anything else you would normally view on a phone screen. With no keys to disrupt its curved form, Alo is also completely voice activated and is equipped with high performance voice recognition and artificial intelligence software so the more you talk to it the better it responds to your voice. Fan of a selfie? Don't worry, Alo boasts a dual camera and high-speed charge so you need never miss a photo opportunity.

One of Starck’s recent collaborations was with Chinese tech firm Xiaomi to create the Mi Mix – a smartphone as cool as your superyacht. Boasting Starck’s signature blend of tactile user-friendliness and functionality, the Mi Mix features a ceramic body and near-edgeless display with a battery life of up to 13 hours making it strong competition for both the iPhone 7 and Google Pixel. It even comes in an Exclusive Edition with 18 karat gold detailing for those looking for an extra touch of luxury.

There is perhaps no drink more oft associated with the glamorous life of yachting than Champagne so it seems only fitting that Starck should team up with Louis Roederer on one of the best Champagne collaborations. Starck designed the colourful label and box for the brand’s Brut Nature 2009 vintage which – in keeping with Starck’s reputation for innovation – has been described as the most modern of all Roederer Champagnes.

As well as owning his own design, interiors and architecture business, Philippe Starck also has a side line in fine perfumes. Created with the help of expert perfumer Dominique Ropion and debuted in September 2016, the collection currently comprises three fragrances: Peau de Soie, a feminine fragrance characterised by woody and vegetable notes, Peau d’Ailleurs, a unisex perfume with earthy, musky and amber tones, and Peau de Pierre, a masculine scent with a smoky core.

A great pair of sandals is a yachting wardrobe essential for any owner and who better to design them than a man as well acquainted with superyachts as Philippe Starck? In 2016, Starck collaborated with Brazilian shoe brand Ipanema to create a line of minimalist sandals aimed at offering women stylish, elegant choices for every aspect of their lives. Available in four designs and 12 colours, the sandals were stocked in some of the world’s most famous department stores, including Alchemist in Miami and Colette in Paris, in 2016.

The third generation of headphones designed by Starck for French tech brand Parrot, the Zik 3 headphones are yet another example of Starck’s ability to marry style and substance. Aesthetically beautiful with shiny crocodile, leather or over-stitched options in a range of sophisticated shades, the Zik 3 headphones boast wireless charging and listening capabilities, smartphone compatibility, adaptive noise control and ‘head detection’ which automatically pauses music when the headphones are taken off.