With designers like Philippe Starck and Michael Graves having breathed life into formerly dowdy housewares chain Target, it was only a matter of time before the trend extended to formerly dowdy hotel chains. It's just been announced that hip hotelier Ian Schrager, the founder of the concept of boutique hotels, is partnering up with Marriott:

Their plan is straightforward enough: Schrager will design about 100 boutique hotels for the as-yet-unnamed brand in major cities across the United States, South America, Europe and Asia, and Marriott International will operate them. By tapping a range of renowned architects and designers, Schrager plans to give each property a distinct character.

While there's not yet any word on who those "renowned architects and designers" will be, Schrager says,

"...believe me, I'm not going to have a book of standards. It will be..." He paused for effect. "The anti-chain."

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via international herald tribune