French designer Philippe Starck argues that consumers should be buying products that will last for generations rather than following passing trends, in this movie filmed by Dezeen in New York.
"Timeless seems like a cliché," says Starck, who was speaking at the launch of his new Organic tap for Axor. "It's not."
"If I take the example of fashion, today a girl will buy a new dress every year. If she has a little more money, every six months. If she has [a lot of] money, every two months. This is a little crazy, because we know that the world cannot afford so much material, so much lost energy."
"Timeless is the only way that is really ecological," Starck continues. "We don't need recycling if we just buy less."
Starck believes a product must have both an enduring design and be sufficiently well-made to be considered timeless.
"If we are obliged to buy something, we have to buy something intelligent, which has longevity, so that you don't put it in the trash five years later because it is no longer a good look," he says. "And [it must have] longevity of materiality because five years later if you still like the look, but the quality was bad, it goes in the trash."
"It's a new way of thinking," he concludes. "You don't buy [a product] for six months. You buy for you, for your life and for your children and your grandchildren."
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