Philippe Starck is a French designer and architect, born in Paris in 1949. His work runs from interiors and hotels to furniture, lighting and household objects. One of his early landmarks was the interior of the Café Costes in Paris, in 1984, and the three-legged chair he designed for it.
Much of his furniture borrows a shape people already know and changes what it is made of. The Louis Ghost chair takes the outline of a classic French armchair and casts it in clear plastic. The Masterchair goes further: its back is drawn from the outlines of three mid-century chairs, by Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames.
The five chairs in this collection look like five different ideas, but for daily use they fall into three groups by material. That is what decides how heavy they are, where they can go and how you clean them.
Clear polycarbonate: the Louis Ghost armchair and the Ghost Chair. Both are listed as transparent polycarbonate, and both product pages describe them as stackable. The armless one is the lightest chair here, at 4 kg, and the armchair weighs 6 kg. Both arrive assembled. Their product pages say they can be used outside but are best kept under cover to prevent UV damage and fading. Wipe them with a damp cloth and avoid abrasive cleaners, which scratch a clear surface.
White polypropylene: the Masterchair. It is opaque rather than clear, weighs 6 kg, and its product page lists a damp cloth for care. Its product page lists base-to-seat assembly, where the two clear chairs arrive ready to use.
Plywood, tubular steel and full aniline leather: the Costes and the Pratfall. Both have a dark-wood plywood shell on black tubular steel legs, with a padded seat in full aniline leather. They are the heaviest chairs, at 18 kg and 12.2 kg, and neither product page makes any outdoor claim, so treat them as indoor chairs. The Costes stands on three legs and is the taller of the two, at 87 cm with a 48.5 cm seat. The Pratfall is low and deep, at 73 cm high and 72 cm deep with a 40.5 cm seat, 5 cm below the Masterchair's 45.5 cm. Wipe the frame with a soft, damp cloth and condition the leather occasionally, as the Costes product page advises.
A note on "acrylic". Clear chairs are often searched for as acrylic, and one product page on this collection uses the word too. The specifications for both clear chairs list polycarbonate. If the material matters to you, go by the specification on each product page.
See more dining chairs across the site.
The three lamps share one design: a glass dome shade on a chrome-style base or fitting, giving a soft, diffused light. The choice is about height and where the light needs to come from.
The table version is 23.5 cm across and 45 cm high, with a switch on the cable and a UK or Euro plug.
The floor version is 39 cm across and 183 cm tall, also with a switch on the cable and a plug. It ships in two boxes.
The ceiling version uses the same 39 cm width as the floor version in a 30 cm high fitting, and its product page lists it as dimmable with the dimmer sold separately. Compare other pendant lights across the site.
All three take one E27 bulb, with 40 W recommended, and none includes a bulb. Each needs basic assembly, with instructions included.
Philippe Starck is a French designer and architect, born in Paris in 1949. He works across interiors, hotels, furniture, lighting and household objects. His style often takes a familiar form, such as a classic armchair, and remakes it in an unexpected material like clear plastic. He made his name in the 1980s with the interior of the Café Costes in Paris.
Two designs are usually named first: a sculptural lemon squeezer from the late 1980s and his clear armchair from the early 2000s, a transparent take on a classic French armchair that has sold in very large numbers. Among his furniture, the three-legged chair he designed for the Café Costes in Paris is also widely known.
The clear armchair takes the outline of an 18th-century French armchair and makes it in transparent plastic, so the familiar shape seems to almost disappear. It was launched in the early 2000s. This collection holds two chairs in that style: the armchair, in clear or smoked, and a smaller armless chair in clear, both listed in polycarbonate.
No. They are reproductions made in the style of Philippe Starck's designs, and each product page in this collection states that the item is not manufactured by or affiliated with the original designer. Each product page lists its own materials, dimensions, weight and care advice, so you can check exactly what you are buying before you order.
The specifications for both clear chairs list polycarbonate. Clear chairs like these are often called acrylic, and one of the product pages uses that word in its subtitle, but the specification is the line to go by. Care advice on both pages is the same: a damp cloth, with no abrasive cleaners that could scratch the clear surface.
Only the two clear polycarbonate chairs carry any outdoor guidance. Their product pages say they can be used outside but are best kept under cover to prevent UV damage and fading. The Masterchair, Costes and Pratfall product pages make no outdoor claim, and the Costes and Pratfall are upholstered in leather, so treat those three as indoor chairs.
The two clear polycarbonate chairs, the Louis Ghost armchair and the armless Ghost Chair, are both described as stackable on their product pages. The Masterchair, Costes and Pratfall product pages do not describe stacking. If you need chairs to store away between uses, note that the armless clear chair is also the lightest here, at 4 kg.
Three product pages list a seat height. The Costes is the highest, at 48.5 cm, then the Masterchair at 45.5 cm, then the Pratfall at 40.5 cm, which also has the lowest overall height at 73 cm. The two clear chairs list their overall heights, 93 cm with arms and 90 cm without, but not a seat height.
All three take one E27 bulb, with 40 W recommended, and no bulb is included, so buy one separately. The table and floor versions have a switch on the cable and come with a UK and Euro plug. The ceiling version is listed as dimmable, with the dimming device not included, so a compatible dimmer needs to be fitted separately.
It depends on the piece and the finish. Some pieces and finishes are held in stock for faster dispatch, while others take longer. Each product page shows its current lead time under the Add to Cart button, and the delivery date is confirmed by email once the order is placed, with updates on its progress after that.
