Tropicana Magazine Jul-Aug 2017 #114: Bold & Beautiful

THE HOME
photograph by Lukas Roth
Karim of the crop
Dubbed the Prince and/or Poet of Plastic,
it’s impossible to ignore Karim Rashid and
his work – the man himself is 6’4”, dressed
completely in pink or white (he carries a Tide
To Go stain stick to touch up his white suits
although he’s recently taken to experimenting
with lime green) and his designs are ubiquitous
and unmistakably him – futuristic, sensually
minimalistic and in glorious Technicolor.
Born in Egypt, raised in England, educated in
Canada, and worked in Italy for a few years
before opening his own studio in New York in
1993 (where he is still based), this half-Egyptian,
half-English designer is one of the most
prolific designers of his generation with over
3000 designs in production, over 300 awards
and having worked in over 40 countries. He
has made an art of bringing new ideas and
innovation to the widest-possible audience
with designs for brands which run the gamut
from high-end (Veuve Clicquot, Kenzo and
Christofle) to the everyday (Method, Umbra,
Starbucks) and is committed to beautifying
even the most quotidian objects like manhole
covers, baby bottles and even sex toys. His
forays into architecture and interior design
have resulted in mischievous, optimistic spaces
which invite the user to play like Magik Hotel
Norway, NHow Hotel Berlin and Prizeotel
Germany. And while the designer is emphatic
he has no favourites while shuttling effortlessly
between disciplines, he admits he loves the
immediate impact an interior can have on
people’s lives: “With hospitality design or
public space, I know that masses of people
have access to my designs, and they aren’t just
looking at it, they are physically immersing
themselves inside of the design. I have the
power to affect them on a social level, whether
it is to provide relaxing solitude, community,
or a pleasurable vacation.”
TM | July/AUGUST 2017
38