Kartell has launched its first eyewear collection in collaboration with designers Rodolfo Dordoni, Ferruccio Laviani, Piero Lissoni and Fabio Novembre inspired by classical tradition, and its most famous chair, the Louis Ghost, that has met world leaders from Pope Benedict XVI to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, just turned twenty.
Always exploring new areas of design, Kartell has launched their first eyewear collection in collaboration with designers Rodolfo Dordoni, Ferruccio Laviani, Piero Lissoni and Fabio Novembre, and the development team at AVM, Allison Volta Mantovana 1959. Calling on the designers to interpret the range’s creative approach, the collection, which includes the Main Collection and Design Collection, features different materials, each design cleverly combining unique geometric shapes, forms and thicknesses in tune with Kartell’s best loved product lines. Transparency, remarks Kartell “is a leading protagonist and confers elegance and character to these essential fashion accessories”.
The Eyeliner eyewear collection designed by Piero Lissoni follows the contours of the eyes. Portrait c/o Kartell.
The Lamina Showpiece frame from Kartell's Main Collection. Photo c/o Kartell.
The Main Collection features softer interpretations of the Design Collection which is signed by the designers and features a more accentuated approach. Metal appears, sometimes alone and sometimes in conjunction with plastic materials enhanced by gloss and soft-touch finishes. In line with the group’s ‘Kartell loves the planet’ manifesto, importantly the range features KartellBio, a sustainable acetate derived from cotton and remnant wood fibres. Inspired by classical tradition, it is a eyewear collection with a highly distinctive look.
“Kartell has always looked to the future and has always followed developments in materials and production processes… KartellBio, for example, is a new green material that is being used for the first time in this project.”
Lorenza Luti, Kartell
Queen Elizabeth II, Anna Wintour and Louis Ghost at the Richard Quinn show in London in 2018. Photo c/o Kartell.
Louis Ghost celebrating 10 years in Tokyo as part of the 'Louis Ghost 10th Anniversery Around the World' in 2012. Photo c/o Kartell.
For Louis Ghost's birthday, Kartell undertook a collaboration with Teatro alla Scala, choreographer Patrick de Bana and La Scala soloist dancers Maria Celeste Losa and Gabriele Corrado. Portrait c/o Kartell.
The 2018 teddy bear version of Louis Ghost by Jeremy Scott for Moschino. Photo c/o Kartell.
Louis Ghost at Pope Benedict XVI's Mass in 2007. Photo c/o Kartell.
The Main Collection's Lamina, top, and Lamina Showpiece eyewear ranges. Photo c/o Kartell.
The Line-K frames by Fabio Novembre emphasise the eyebrows, creating a shiny bridge that holds the lenses in front of the eyes. Photo c/o Kartell.
The Shield frame designed by Fabio Novembre evokes the inspirational 60s designs of Anna Castelli Ferrieri. Photo c/o Kartell.
The Segmenti frame, here and following, designed by Ferruccio Laviani is simple in form and extremely light. Photos c/o Kartell.
The Loo-K eyewear collection by Rodolfo Dordoni, its rounded, sinuous shape that follows the face with contrasting materials and colours. Portrait c/o Kartell.
The Main Collection's Borderino frame defined by a contrast between transparency and opacity. Photo c/o Kartell.
The Eyeliner and its timeless silhouette by Piero Lissoni is a frame that, like all of his designs, is as simple as possible. Photo c/o Kartell.
“Twenty years ago, the Louis Ghost chair designed itself, produced by our collective western subconscious… a natural result of our past, our present and our future.”
Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck celebrating 20 years of Louis Ghost. Photo c/o Kartell.
While the world famous Louis Ghost chair that launched a whole new approach to material transparency and met world leaders, from Pope Benedict XVI to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, has turned twenty. Designed by Philippe Starck, it is both visible and invisible, real and immaterial, elegant and intelligent, and as Starck has described, “a natural result of our past, our present and our future” Today Louis Ghost continues its evolution in polycarbonate 2.0, a sustainable version derived mainly from industrial cellulose and paper waste. Produced in a process patented by Kartell , the group uses the most advanced technology and the minimum amount of material to create its next generation Louis Ghost.
To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, Kartell undertook a special collaboration with Teatro alla Scala, the iconic Milanese temple of opera and ballet and choreographer Patrick de Bana. For the new project with Kartell, de Bana created the duet ‘Marie Antoinette Reloaded’ inspired by his ballet Marie Antoinette, entrusting the lines, tension and creative inspiration to Maria Celeste Losa and Gabriele Corrado, La Scala soloist dancers who combine technique, expressiveness and contemporary energy with innate grace and harmony to reflect Louis Ghost’s lightness and elegance.
Kartell Louis Ghost is available exclusively in South East Asia from Space – Australia, and Space – Singapore and Malaysia, and Kartell Eyewear is available from from Space – Australia and Space – Singapore.
