Kartell Goes Bourgie
The iconic lamp is re-imagined by 14 designers for its 10th anniversary
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 Ferruccio Laviani, its baroque allure masterfully meets the simplicity of a pure outline while dignifying plastic as an excellent design material.
The Bourgie is now celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Kartell has made the exciting decision to tap some of the most renowned international designers to re-conceive the lamp in tribute to its lasting design. The upshot is an impressive collection of 14 unique pieces, which will be unveiled in Paris on 23 January 2014, at Kartell’s flagship store. This will be the first in a series of international exhibitions that will go on throughout the year.
The “Kartell Goes Bourgie” project features Philippe Starck, who has gone for a fantastically over-the-top design in which the lamp’s base is almost entirely covered in a cascade of colorful paraphernalia. In contrast, Ludovica+Roberto Palomba reproduced a simple and delicate metallic structure which works with RGB-colored lights that give life to an impressive game of polychromatic shadows.
Some of the designers truly reinvented the Bourgie. Front Design‘s love of fluid and unconventional shapes is expressed by a deformation of a white Bourgie. Mario Bellini added a whole new function to the lamp and turned it into a hanger—complete with an umbrella stand. Patricia Urquiola‘s vision means Bourgie can finally fly and become a ceiling lamp, although created from the same components as the original.
Absolute simplicity is the cue for the reinterpretations realized by Christophe Pillet, Nendo, Tokujiin Yoshioka and Piero Lissoni, while other striking contributions from Alberto Meda, Lenny Kravitz, Eugeni Quitllet, Patrick Jouin and Rodolfo Dordoni will also delight viewers.
“Kartell Goes Bourgie” collection will be unveiled 23 January 2014 at Kartell’s Paris flagship store located at 242 Boulevard Saint Germain.
Images courtesy of Kartell
