Superstar designer Philippe Starck has re-imagined everything from toilet brushes and kitchen sinks to hotels and rocket ships — and love him or hate him, it's impossible to deny his creative genius. Whether he's designing for design's sake or making the world better — Starck understands that us human beings need his wildly romantic escapism as much as we need the ups and downs of plain old reality.

Sometimes bright and minimal and sometimes dark and baroque, Starck's work displays a largess that is distinctly masculine, but also frequently evokes whimsical childhood fantasies. His design has occasionally eschewed functionality for beauty — his gorgeous iconic juicer, the Juicy Salif, is famously difficult to use — but he has lately criticized the excess of mass-produced design. At the very least we're always curious what this self-aware, yet utterly un-self-conscious designer's unique vision will come up with next. An entire catalog of Philippe Starck's work can be found on his website, www.starck.com.

MORE PHILIPPE STARCK ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
Philippe Starck: "I will definitely give up in two years time..."
Miniature Wind Turbine by Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck for Yoo Group
Andrey Melnichenko's Yacht "A" by Phillipe Starck
Philippe Starck's Mask Sconces At Mama Shelter
Philippe Starck Kitchens for Warendorf

Images: 1-4, 6-8: Philippe Starck; 5: Sarah Rainwater; 10: Todd Selby