Alessi 2019: Design As A Driving Force of Culture

Praise of detail combined with an element of transgression; the role of the company as a workshop open to the world of creativity; and the anniversary of two important events. These are some of the fundamental themes that outline the profile of the Spring/Summer 2019 collection by Alessi.

A multifaceted core of projects codified by designers already known in the Alessi Encyclopedia: Naoto Fukasawa, Philippe Starck, Michel Boucquillon and Donia Maaoui, Stefano Giovannoni, Guido Venturini.

“Barket,” the round basket designed by Michel Boucquillon and Donia Maaoui is a poetic object, a virtuous example of the technical ability Alessi has achieved in the processing of cold-pressed metals. Its perforated decoration is inspired by the “Bark” series, a family of kitchen accessories and small furniture that has been widely acclaimed since the first piece presented in 2015. Inspired by the forms of nature, “Barket” is presented in four versions: polished steel, coloured steel: white, black or red.

For the furnishing accessories catalogue, legendary architect/designer Philippe Starck has reinterpreted a cult object he designed in the second half of the 90s. Newly proposed in a different material, with matte colours and a new finish, “Dédé” is a door stop in thermoplastic resin with “solitary and plump” anthropomorphic features. A strong presence in a contemporary living space

Absolutely essential for the housewares industry, cutlery has played an important role in Alessi’s history since the early 1920s. Now, it’s the Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa who has been entrusted with making a contribution to its design. Conceived with profiles shaped to ensure a pleasant grip, “Itsumo” — from the Japanese word meaning “daily and forever” — is steel cutlery with great looks at a ‘popular’ price. The Asian master of minimalism has in fact conceived an “everyday” service which can be considered the most accessible in the Alessi catalogue.

In 2019, the famous “Girotondo” collection, created in 1989 by the King-Kong duo (Stefano Giovannoni and Guido Venturini), turns thirty years old. Celebrate the anniversary of this icon, an interweaving of history, research, design, a special edition in 999 numbered
copies. Made of steel embellished with a 24 carat gold plating, the limited edition is proposed in the most representative elements of the family: the Basket, the Fruit bowl and the round Tray. Like all the articles in this wideranging, numerous series, even this chic version of the pop culture masterpiece began in Italy, from the moulds and presses of Alessi’s factory in Crusinallo.

On the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the Bauhaus, Alessi remembers the profound historical, artistic and cultural value of the school founded by Walter Gropius, with some of the projects produced under license by the Bauhaus Archiv in Berlin.

Created in the mid-80s for the Officina Alessi catalogue, the “90010”, “90046”, “90047” steel and brass Ashtrays by Marianne Brandt and the “90042” steel Cream set by Marianne Brandt and Helmut Schulze are offered with a celebratory packaging. From the Weimar workshops to the Crusinallo factory, a great story unites this group of objects chosen to represent the activity of one of the Research Laboratories in the field of Applied Arts whose mission has always been recognized by Alessi.

Further mention is deserved by the evolutionary project carried out by a successful contemporary architect on the most ‘popular’ Italian product present in kitchens since the 1930s. In April 2019, during the Milan Design Week, the Englishman David Chipperfield will take on the myth of the espresso coffee maker.

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