Philippe Stark & Missi Sissi Biography
The Miss Sissi table lamp represents a fascinating, fun and almost cartoonish study of a lighting object. The entire structure, consisting of the lampshade, the stem and the base, is made of polycarbonate, a type of plastic. The false machine stitching that characterizes the side of the lamp amplifies the awareness and refined sense of kitsch, while the name recalls Starck's typical mix of references, ranging from boudoir to burlesque, via Betty Boop. Starck's intention was to create a lamp that responded to each individual's "idea" of what a lamp should be.
Miss Sissi was created partly as a reaction to "smart" designs, characterized by complex engineering details, such as Richard Sapper's Tizio lamp, which in previous years adorned the desks of almost all architects. Furthermore, it was designed to offer an affordable object that could give its buyer a rather simple type of pleasure. The lamp achieved immediate success, gaining the status of a cult object. It was introduced on the market almost at the same time as Alessi's colored plastic products, which also included other items designed by Starck. This series seemed to share the same childlike quality as Alessi's Family Follows Fiction series, which the company was banking on. These ideas were based on the principles of child psychoanalysts DW Winnicott and Franco Fornari, who attributed to our unconscious the desire to possess objects that remind us of our childhood.
In the 1990s, this strategy proved particularly effective as a marketing technique, especially in a period of economic recession, in which the idea of expensive objects, signed by excessively elaborate designers, was almost taboo. Starck is known for the detailed explanations he provides for his products, through stylistic references and witty names he gives them, and the Miss Sissi lamp is no exception. Its packaging also contributed greatly to Starck's success, as it was sold in a cardboard box similar to those used to contain a beautiful doll.
