HW BACK STORY
JUICY SALIF
BY PHILIPPE STARCK FOR ALESSI CHALLENGED TO TRANSFORM A HUMDRUM OBJECT INTO A PIECE OF MEMORABLE DESIGN RESULTED IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST COVETABLE KITCHEN ACCESSORIES – AND A TRULY ICONIC EXAMPLE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
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he Juicy Salif is arguably one of the most recognised accessories in the world – with its long legs and curved top, the iconic juicer created by Philippe Starck 27 years ago for Italian brand Alessi can be found in stylish kitchens all over the world, and this festive season is bound to be found wrapped up under many a Christmas tree. The origins of the juicer are now design folklore. The French designer was commissioned by Alessi to create a juicer as part of its ‘designer’ series and, having visited the company offices in Italy, took a short break on the Amalfi coast. Dining in a pizzeria he ordered a plate of calamari. Having been served it without lemon, Starck was beckoning his waiter over when inspiration struck and with no paper to hand, began sketching on the paper placemat. Looking at the paper, it is possible to see his thought process he started with the shape of a squid, even trying to adapt it to a conventional lemon juicer shape, but swiftly jettisoned this; further inspired by his boyhood love of sci-fi comics, he transformed the squid into an alien-style shape with an elegant tapered body and long legs. Starck sent the placemat to the head of Alessi, Alberto Alessi. ‘On it, among some incomprehensible marks – tomato sauce, in all likelihood – there were some sketches,’ he says. ‘Sketches of squid. They started on the left and as they worked their way over to the right, they took on the unmistakable shape of what was to become the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer.’ This placemat is now in the Alessi Museum, and the juicer has gone on to become one of Alessi’s best-selling and best-known products. As well as the original aluminium, it has also been created in limited editions of gold, bronze, anthracite and white. It is not without controversy, though. Many have complained that it does not work well as a juicer, as the juice does not easily flow into the glass below (Starck is said to have commented that ‘‘it’s not meant to squeeze lemons, it is meant to start conversations.’) And Alessi has said that as well as being one of the most amusing projects he has ever worked on, the Juicy Saif was ‘deliberately poking fun at the idea that form should follow function’. Whatever one thinks of the efficiency of the Juicy Salif, it is very much a design icon, found in London’s Design Museum as well as the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York.
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01/12/2017 14:06