There is a visual fact to which we have become more and more accustomed over the last two decades: a pervasive presence, more precisely an absence perhaps, on which more or less famous personalities have sat, and with which more or less photographed tables and meeting rooms have been populated from time to time. A piece of plastic in fact, but what a piece, if we think of how it is now assimilated within our visual landscapes, of the 3 million examples scattered around the world since 2002, of those re-interpreted in 20 years by artists and designers.
But where does the Louis Ghost come from? Is it an expression of 2000s retro-wave or is there more to it?
"The Louis Ghost chair was self-designed 20 years ago” Philippe Starck tells Domus, to better explain how its name got bound so tight to this millennium design icon “It has been shaped by our collective western unconscious. At once visible and invisible, real and immaterial, it is a 'Louis something', a kind of ghost, an invisible friend, a reflection, a shadow of a chair in a style I called ‘Louis Ghost’. It is disappearing, dematerializing, like all the production of our civilization."
In fact, it was from an afterthought that the whole “operation Louis” took off; a unique afterthought coming from the dialogue of two different minds: “From the very first object he developed for me, Philippe wanted to differentiate his design from what was the image of the plastic product in the 70s”. Claudio Luti says this, the one who acquired Kartell in 1988, immediately starting a collaboration with the French designer to revolutionize the company, aiming to infuse creativity and increase quality into the panorama of industrial plastic products.
And this is how such an icon took shape, starting with a critical view on both a material and an archetype. "In 2000, there was the introduction of this new material, polycarbonate, the first to combine great transparency with exceptional hardness: we saw it used in police shields and helmets," recounts Luti, and from there the idea began, of transposing it into another semantic field, — furniture, the chair — starting from its application to an instinctively iconic shape.
The Louis Ghost chair was self-designed 20 years ago. It has been shaped by our collective western unconscious. It is disappearing, dematerializing, like all the production of our civilization.
Philippe Starck
“I searched in my subconscious, what was the collective memory of a chair” this is Starck’s reconstruction “In the West, if you want to design a chair or an armchair with armrests, the model that immediately comes to mind is the medallion. So I redesigned this medallion by cleaning it of the decorative dross and it turned out to be technically possible to create it transparent. This transparency made the Louis Ghost even more complete, more perfect. The circle was squared.
And it was also an immediate “good first take”, Luti confirms. “I remember the excitement on the first prototype we made, it immediately seemed a winner. Then we just had to work on the backrest alone to make it comfortable: it was such an outpouring of attentions, of ergonomic tests, that Louis then became the test benchmark for all other chairs by Kartell”.
Today, it is considered an icon because everyone recognizes it and sees it as familiar.
Philippe Starck
For Kartell, Louis Ghost sealed the image deal between the brand and a concept of transparency that opened up new markets and a truly global dimension, continuing with successful projects by various designers, such as Ferruccio Laviani's Bourgie. An identity trait, as Luti outlines: “Louis is also Ghost because it combines a strong form with an immaterial lightness. Strength and lightness: if I could, I would try to make all products with this trademark'.
For present Starck, instead, Louis has a similar role all other works in his production, namely those small or large transformative missions on behaviour and lifestyles: “If there are good reasons to produce a new object, if it is legitimate, then it must improve the life of as many people as possible. There is still a lot of work with chairs and tables because the ecological, economic, social, political challenges are not yet solved. I have been working on democratic design for 25 years, to offer quality creations accessible to all, and the Louis Ghost is the perfect example, offering the right design, the right technology, at the right price.”
A role in society, therefore, of harmonizing in the widest and most diverse possible number and sense of environments, domestic landscapes or habitats. “Mixing: this has always been Kartell's idea, fitting in all environments, among different materials,” Luti says. “This is also why I have never tried to develop complete environments, this is why I have made objects like Louis, which has always been emblematic of such attitude, and resulted being successful”.
It is also the reason why neither of them says to be favouring one among the many, even famous, applications that this chair has had over the years. On the contrary, says Luti, “I have seen it literally everywhere: indoors, outdoors, homes, hotels, restaurants, entire rooms, fashion shows and meetings. I myself have it at home; every evening I have dinner sitting on a Louis Ghost, and believe me: it could be really easy for me to change chairs continuously”.
Luti has been owning Louis Ghosts for 20 years and is fond of them, Starck sees their success in how they have become familiar objects: the key seems to be longevity, but apparently this longevity has nothing to do with a static nature. First of all, it's a matter of materiality: Louis has recently switched to being produced in Polycarbonate 2.0, a material made from 65/70% vegetable matter (cellulose) on which Kartell has exclusive supply rights from the biggest multinational in the sector; and so this project has managed to get its foot in the door also for what concerns the sustainability discourse.
Every evening I have dinner sitting on a Louis Ghost, and believe me: it could be really easy for me to change chairs continuously.
Claudio Luti
Then there is the question of reception, of settling in the imagination and history. And this is where Starck takes the floor: “Louis Ghost becomes democratic design 2.0” he tells us, thus putting into a much deeper perspective what at first sight could be branded as the success of a retro-design operation «When in the 2000s, design became fashionable, it had become dangerous and anti-ecological, for furniture production used a lot of materials and energy. My question has always been "how can design be done in the future?" taking into account the values, the necessities, the ever-changing urgencies.
Today, the new generation has understood this and I am very happy to see the start of a revival in design, with the return of ethical values.”
A further confirmation on how a much more correct lens to observe Louis Ghost is longevity, rather than stylistic revival. Longevity of the material, longevity of the archetype and longevity of the resulting icon, an instant icon at first and then an archetype in itself as time has gone by: “25 years ago, when I created the invisible Louis Ghost which refers to dematerialization, it was the right thing to do, as it's still number one in the world. I'm really happy to see that longevity works.”
But at this point, we wonder, do we really need new instant icons? And Starck does not fail to make the point on this too: “In my opinion, the icon means that someone once thought, 'This is an icon and this is my icon.' Nothing exists until you put a name on it.
Now, Louis Ghost has become an icon, and today we need the same - as it is perfect, but produced in an ecological bio-based material, which Kartell is doing now.
The human being is a genius, who always finds solutions to adapt to contemporary issues, and we can always do better”.
