Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck

Great indoors or — believe it or not — outdoors, this chair is a refreshing twist on the 250-year-old Louis XVI version, a court of Versailles staple that had a huge impact on furniture design.
To Buy: $362, www.kartell.it for stores.

The Backstory

French designer Starck, the man behind boutique hotels like the Delano, in Miami Beach, joined forces with Italian furniture manufacturer Kartell in 2002 to create this beauty, which is made by injecting molten plastic into a mold (so it has no seams). It resides in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s permanent collection.

What the Design Pros Say

“Starck is channeling the history of furniture and combining it with technology to make it entirely modern,” says Richard Wright, president of the Wright Auction House.

“He’s a design genius,” says architect Jeffrey Beers. “This chair will certainly appreciate tenfold in 25 to 30 years.”