Philippe Starck's Ray Hollis ashtray for the Royalton Hotel in New York

In 1984, ian schrager, co-founder of the royalton hotel, asked starck to design the interior of one of his hotels. Schrager wanted a new type of luxury hotel, combining sophistication and comfort. Starck, who started out as a designer, had never known luxury hotels, palaces. So ian schrager had him stay in two luxury hotels a day for 15 days. It took him four years to design the royalton hotel, but the result was a small revolution. Starck designed most of the hotel's furniture, sofas, lamps, tables, the most emblematic of which is the bar stool. Ray hollis' ash tray was originally produced for the royalton hotel, then reissued by french publisher xo. Wear in accordance with age and use.