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What's in a Product Name? And Philippe Starck Gets Into Leather

By Rain Noe - April 28, 2011

in Object Culture

Years ago at the New York Auto Show I wandered into now-defunct Mercury's exhibit area, where their Mercury Marauder concept car was on display. I thought the name was weird, given Mercury's blue-haired client base; my then-girlfriend quipped they might as well have called it the Mercury Violator.

Product names often have little to do with their intended purpose, but that hasn't stopped Philippe Starck from naming his latest chair the Lou Read. It's partly a play on words—Starck met musician Lou Reed at Paris' Royal Monceau Hotel years ago, and the rooms of that hotel will now feature the chair—and partly wistful aspirations of how the chair will be used: Says Starck, "This project is a reminder that it is far better to spend time in conversation or reading activities than in front of the TV or computer."

The Lou Read, produced by Italian manufacturer Driade, is made from leather stretched over a glass-resin skeleton. If you don't feel like taking a trip to the Royal Monceau, you can pony up six large and order your own here.

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benni

13 years ago

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Parting lines might accommodate the seam in the leather and keep the smooth appearance, least that's what I'd do.
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D_P

13 years ago

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i like how the skeleton has the same parting lines as the leather skin. would there be a manufacturing reason for this, or is it just a cool secret detail?
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