Holy Moses, until I was poking around the archive of an Amsterdam design auction, I had forgotten how utterly freaky, bizarre, and wrong Philippe Starck's ride-on/walking toy The Face is.
And to think that five years ago, we gave one away as a prize in the first Daddy Types Bizarre Children's Book Contest.
The auctioneer Botterweg says The Face was produced for Big in 1995, but Starck's own site says it was 1997. It was made in Germany. And sold in FAO Schwarz. It is obvious, if embarrassing, evidence that kid-centered high design culture did not, in fact, start with me, or you, or even, bless his heart, David Netto.
I think if you run the numbers, you'll find a high statistical correlation between having a The Face as a kid in 1997 and sexting in 2011. Just a theory.
Lot 526: Yellow plastic walkingobject "The Face", design Philippe Starck 1995, executed for Big, est €100-150, sold for €120 [botterweg.com]
Hey, this guy couldn't sell a The Face for $29 last month [ebay]
Previously: Philippe Starck potty training set at Target
Wow...Sparkability. I think maybe you need to do a piece on their rise and fall.
Monty Python said it best: "Sit on my face, and tell me that you love me...."