Philippe Starck and Perrier Unveil a Special Edition Design
Is there a more distinct water bottle than the green-hued vessel that’s long housed Perrier? The French brand, celebrating its 160th anniversary, is recognizable on carefully set dinner tables, grocery store shelves, and dining establishments around the world, a bit of bubbly without the headache. Though Perrier has a rich history of collaborating with artists from Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí to Takashi Murakami, for the first time none other than Philippe Starck was entrusted to reimagine the bottle design for a special (and limited) anniversary edition.
For inspiration, Starck looked to the Fresnel lens, first developed in 1823 by a French engineer to increase the range of luminosity from lighthouses, making marine navigation safer. The lens features a distinct concentric pattern of carved ridges, which improves the light source’s consistency and intensity. With this pattern in mind, Starck envisioned a series of thin horizontal halos carved into the Perrier + Starck glass bottle. Like the lens, the bottle’s swirls offer a play on optics and light, hinting at the energy contained within the dancing bubbles.
“Keeping the essence of an icon unaltered, it’s possible to distort and play with the shape to apply current parameters to a timeless form. This is what I did with the addition of this highly technical horizontal grooving, which creates a natural rigidity. But it’s not just about technique, it’s also about exploring the Unknown,” notes Starck. “In my project, the Unknown is encapsulated in the notion that each bubble is a magnifying glass, and that by using the structure to shape a Fresnel lens, I could create an optical surprise, bringing intrigue and a spark of fantasy.”

The design also serves a practical purpose, creating a non-slip grip with its striated pattern. “The bottle clings to me, I cling to the bottle: another form of play. And you’ll see it, in this new bottle, the bubbles are absolutely out of this world,” adds Starck. The limited edition Perrier + Starck bottle is out now, following a mid-October launch.
Perrier + Starck, a Limited Edition Bottle Design



read more
Products
Philippe Starck Teams Up With Andreu World on Sustainable Seating Line
Phillippe Starck’s first collaboration with the sustainability gurus at Andreu World is Adela Rex, a seating line made entirely of FSC–certified oak or walnut plywood, created by forming Starck’s sleek 3-D geometries…
Products
Patricia Urquiola Turns Digital Art into Hand-Knotted Rugs
Connected tubes of Himalayan wool emerge from the surface of Patricia Urquiola’s Pipeline Freeform rugs, curving and overlapping in wild squiggles.
DesignWire
10 Questions With… Philippe Starck
Renowned designer Philippe Starck sat down with Interior Design to share insights into his more than four decades of design and talk about the A.I. chair (the world’s first chair designed using artif…
recent stories
DesignWire
Designers Talk Trends in Hospitality Design at Penn1 in Manhattan
INTERIOR DESIGN editor in chief Cindy Allen recently brought together four lauded designers during a lively “Wonder Women in Hospitality” talk in New York.
DesignWire
Fernando Laposse Takes a Sustainable Approach to Furniture Design
Fernando Laposse’s furniture is a witty critique of—and thoughtful answer to—the environmental and cultural devastation wrought by the global marketplace.
DesignWire
An Architect’s Escape in Córdoba Blends into the Landscape
Pablo Dellatorre builds a simple A-frame cabin with a dark facade of rauli, a native and locally sourced wood, that blends seamlessly into the forest.