Philippe Starck's New Collection for Alessi Started as a "Serious Joke"
The French designer looked to pots and pans for inspiration.
Philippe Starck‘s new collection for Alessi is made up of furniture pieces inspired by the humble frying pan. Named “Poêle” – French for pan – the designs combine beech wood and metal, in reference to steel used in cookware.
Officially launching after following a preview in Milan during Salone del Mobile, Poêle marks the first furniture collection designed by Starck for Alessi. In total, the range includes a chair, an armchair, a coat hanger and a stool in two different sizes.
For Starck, working to Alessi’s strengths was a must. He based his designs around the Italian brand’s reputation and expertise in homeware and kitchen products, as well as their capabilities in metalworking technology.
“The Poêle Chair started as a serious joke, with a sketch of a pan with legs and the great idea of adapting an existing high-technology to different purposes,” Starck said, explaining that the seat and back were inspired by a frying pan – seeing the legs as its handles.
For Alessi president Alberto Alessi, working on furniture with Starck has been a longtime coming, given that the designer and the brand have been involved for some 30 years.
“I have been trying to make a chair with Philippe Starck for around 20 years now and, finally, we did it,” he said. “I asked him if it was possible to design a chair that is manufactured like a frying pan, using Alessi’s cold-press metal technology. As is always the case with Starck, it started with a subversion.”
The Poêle collection is available to purchase via the Alessi website, with prices beginning at £395 (approximately €450). For more design, check out our pick of 10 Design Academy Eindhoven graduates to watch from the class of 2023.
