Kartell has earned a deserved reputation as a world authority on luxury furnishings derived from plastics. Company founder Giulio Castelli—a chemical engineer—was able to use his comprehensive knowledge of this revolutionary material to establish one of the principal design trends of the twentieth century. The company continues to “explore the versatility of plastics and redefine the shapes and functions of its own articles,” an objective that has elicited collaboration with premier designers throughout the decades, including Philippe Starck, Tokujin Yoshioka, and Patricia Urquiola.
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Louis Ghost:
Created by Philippe Starck, the Louis Ghost chair is an iconic example of solid polycarbonate design. The piece is an homage to the Louis XV style—“the quintessence of baroque revisited to dazzle, excite, and captivate.” Made from a single injected polycarbonate mould, Louis Ghost is known for its great technical innovation as well as its captivating aesthetic. Kartell offers Louis Ghost in both transparent and batch-dyed polycarbonate: smoke, yellow, sunset orange, crystal green, ice blue, and matte black.
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Invisible Side:
Tokujin Yoshioka’s Invisible Side Table is a centerpiece of the designer’s collection of transparent furnishings for Kartell. The piece is an ingenious multi-functional and multi-faceted triumph of single-mould injection technology and PMMA plastic. Offering a slim, sleek, and minimalist design at home in both residential and contract environments, the piece works as either a side table or a console. This flexibility, along with its clean, contemporary design, also makes it ideal as a display piece in retail venues. Invisible Side is available in transparent crystal, glossy white, glossy black, and transparent smoke.
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Bourgie
One of Kartell’s most popular items, the Bourgie Lamp by Ferruccio Laviani resembles a sculpture of cut crystal, or a flawless rendering in the purest of arctic ice. Laviani’s piece is, in fact, fashioned from polycarbonate. The base is comprised of three separate pieces, carved and joined with artistic precision, while the top is a single shade, sublimely serrated to create a pleated effect. Bourgie’s shade features a unique attachment system that enables users to set it at three different heights—68, 73, and 78 cm.
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Kartell continues to lead the industry in artful, innovative, and clever uses for transparent polycarbonate. Continuing its tradition of attracting the best contemporary design talent, the company has recently partnered with Rod Arad, Antonio Citterio, and Patrick Jouin. The architecture and design community’s high esteem for Kartell is evinced in the company’s multiple awards and accolades, including nine Compasso d’Oro awards, as well as multiple medals at both the Triennale di Milano and the Cologne Furniture Fair.
