design musings

Philippe Starck goes Hollywood

Having just returned from that Mecca of all things illusory I thought I'd pass on a few impressions of Katsuya (on Hollywood at Vine), Philippe Starck's recent foray into LA's glamour sushi (and secret nightclub) scene. Starck, the French designer who has distinguished himself as a thought leader in "New Design" style, has taken on design challenges ranging from toothbrushes to houses, and become a household name in the process. Here in LA he morphs screen and stage into the backdrop of an eatery that is all see and be scene. more on Stark

The most arresting design feature of the generally subdued decor are the huge recessed light panels - (a medium of which I am very much a fan) set back on every wall (images below)

It's long been held that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and here Starck visually disproves the theory. By magnifying, isolating, removing color and pushing the contrast the traditional white point of eyes in portraiture has been reduced a void, vacuous, rectangular....could it be....pixel? The random smudging further takes the eye into the realm of the debauched and empty, c'est trés chic, n'est-ce pas?

I was ushered into the backroom by a tall and solicitous pair of bouncers, apparently the back room bar is not just for everyone. As I wandered around led on by my desire to take in all of Starck's eye candy I was invited and then escorted down an obscure hallway (painted a violent shade of green.) My sense of adventure was rewarded with the most stunning mural - hidden in a plush no name club -a giant light panel of bronzed horse statues set against a raw industrial scene. It reminded me a bit of a carousel - which given the environment seemed appropriate. The DJ was playing a mashup that included everything from Supertram to Aretha....what kept it fresh was the fact that he never got further than 8 bars into a song. No cocktail was prepared without the most elaborate over the shoulder shake (which made it oh so very worth the $20.) The chairs were...you guessed it...Starck's very own, although with a new, oversized, big-enough-for-two interpretation. The string of lights shown above - Starck's very own interior signature of eclectic yet perfectly coordinated.

It was while taking in this scene that a friendly young woman stopped by to invite us to yet an even more secret, even more late night event somewhere in the Hollywood hills....but here we'll call it a night.