Fifteen years ago, Italian design house Kartell fashioned a chair that was as transparent as glass. Made entirely of polycarbonate, it changed the way the world looked at plastic
In India, plastic is a dirty word, one that usually dredges up images of polythene bags strewn on roads and pavements, and swathes of blue tarpaulin over urban sprawls. But plastic can be beautiful. It can be ethereal. It can lift your home from the banal to the extraordinary. The range of products from the 65-year-old Italian design company Kartell is a testament to the evocative power of plastic. Over the years, the company has collaborated with some of the most prestigious international designers who work with chemical engineers to fashion pieces of usable art—tables, chairs, lamps and other household items—which are also at the cutting edge of technology. In 1999, after years of research, Kartell was the first company in the world to use polycarbonate, a type of plastic, to fashion a chair. The result was La Marie, a completely transparent chair designed by Philippe Starck. Since then, Kartell and its team of designers which include Antonio Citterio, Ferruccio Laviani, Piero Lissoni, Tokujin Yoshioka and Mario Bellini, have explored the theme of transparency and iridescence in their products.
ForbesLife India showcases some of the company’s classic bestsellers that are featured in The Kartell Museum in Milan. The museum, which reflects the evolution of plastic at the hands of Kartell, won the Guggenheim Impresa e Cultura Award “for the best corporate museum” in 2000.
Seated and Stacked
Ode to Opaque Design
(This story appears in the Sept-Oct 2014 issue of ForbesLife India. To visit our Archives, click here.)