Kartell Goodnight Table Lamp by Philippe Starck

With its bell-shaped shade and simple, rounded base, the Miss K table lamp is a playful and provocative work from French architect and industrial designer Philippe Starck (b. 1949). Conceived in 2003, Starck’s lamp is fully transparent, from its shimmering shade to the power cord that slinks through its tapered base. When the lamp is turned off, it’s sleek and alluring, with exterior finishes available in metallic silver, black or red. But when the lamp is turned on, a striking X-ray effect materializes, owing to the dual-diffuser system and transparent components.

Starck advocates for the democratization of design — creating products “for society as a whole”— and has said that well-crafted products should be available to everyone. His philosophy is that ethical design and good style can (and should) be connected to affordable accessibility, and environmental consideration is also a priority. “The stupidity of the ecological movement is that people kill trees for wood,” he told Wired magazine in 2008. “It's ridiculous.” Like the celebrated Miss K table lamp, many of Starck’s products are built with durability in mind and rely on plastics that are created with low emissions so that the impact on the earth is minimal. This particular fixture follows the equally sustainable Miss Sissi lamp, which was built with biodegradable plastic, and from Starck and Eugeni Quitllet, the Zartan chair, which is made with recycled polypropylene and is recyclable.

Designed by Starck for Italian lighting company FLOS, the Miss K, with its built-in dimmer and sloping funnel-shaped leg, is at once playful and sleek. It’s classic and boldly contemporary, in the same way that many of Starck’s other well-known pieces — such as the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer, which is the only lemon squeezer in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection — are delightfully whimsical but sophisticated. Because it has proved so popular, the Miss K table lamp is still produced to this day by FLOS.

A ubiquitous name in the world of contemporary architecture and design, Philippe Starck has created everything from hotel interiors and luxury yachts to toothbrushes and teakettles. Yet for every project in his diverse portfolio, Starck has maintained an instantly recognizable signature style: a look that is dynamic, sleek, fluid and witty.

The son of an aircraft engineer, Starck studied interior design at the École Nissim de Camondo in Paris. He started his design career in the 1970s decorating nightclubs in the city, and his reputation for spirited and original interiors earned him a commission in 1983 from French president François Mitterrand to design the private apartments of the Élysée Palace. Starck made his name internationally in 1988 with his design for the interiors of the Royalton Hotel in New York, a strikingly novel environment featuring jewel-toned carpeting and upholstery and furnishings with organically shaped cast-aluminum frames. He followed that up in 1990 with an equally impressive redesign of the Paramount Hotel in Manhattan, a project that featured over-scaled furniture as well as headboards that mimicked Old Masters paintings.

Like their designer, furniture pieces by Starck seem to enjoy attention. Designs such as the wedge-shaped J Series club chair; the sweeping molded-mahogany Costes chair; the provocative Ara table lamp; or the sinuous WW stool never fail to raise eyebrows. Other Starck pieces make winking postmodern references to historical designs. His polycarbonate Louis Ghost armchair puts a new twist on Louis XVI furniture; his Out-In chair offers a futuristic take on the classic English high-back chair. But for all his flair, Starck maintains a populist vision of design. While one of his limited-edition Prince de Fribourg et Treyer armchairs might be priced at $7,000, a plastic Starck chair for the Italian firm Kartell is available for around $250. As you will see on 1stDibs, Philippe Starck’s furniture makes a bold statement — and it can add a welcome bit of humor to even the most traditional decor.