MANILA, Philippines – As Alessi unveils their Fall and Winter Collection, witness the manifestation of the seasons and the transition of the times.
The Italian Factory of Design was founded by Giovanni Alessi in 1921, with its humble beginnings simply as a workshop. Celebrating its rich history and unyielding knowledge in metal, Alessi imagines, invents, and innovates in keeping up with the times. With design and architect maestros in their portfolio, Alessi continues to present vanguard, stimulating, and lustrous designer objects.
The 2017 Fall and Winter Collection presents utilitarian and functional pieces with whimsical and nostalgic sentiments, for home interiors that is exceptional and unparalleled–a cut above the rest, just like Alessi.
Innovating unusual forms
William Alsop and Federico Grazzini design the Grind, a pepper, salt, and spice grinder. Declared a ‘sense of suitability’ by its creators, the Grind uniquely houses the grinding mechanism upward instead of downward. This leaves the table clean without any dregs of ground pepper or herbs. Twisting clockwise allows for finger grinding while the reverse direction permits coarsely ground spices for a personal experience indeed. The jagged outlines and side ridges in aluminium casting embody cutting edge design that is the epitome of Alessi. Alsop dedicates a poem to his creation, stating that “Good food with proper tools is a suspension of time.”
Enhancing the three-dimensionality of steel
Valerio Sommella marries the sentiments of steel with its own reflections of light. Inspired by his travels around the world, this Milanese designer beautifies common kitchenware into extravagant seamless designs. These include the curvy singular shape of the Bulla bottle opener, the piscine form of the Boga ginger grater, and the plump body of the Koka ice cream spatula. He likens his own life experiences to his created treasures, that is, understanding each piece and knowing how to use them is part of the adventure.
The Brigata kitchen cutlery line features six kitchen utensils that merge style and function. The selection comprises of a skimmer, a kitchen fork, a spatula, a ladle, a sauce spoon, and a kitchen spoon, all made with stainless steel. The design starting point are the nifty precision handles, which are hollow and round; thus, making the light and comfortable to hold. A hook at the end allows for easy storage when not in use.
Sommella traverses the minimalist route in devising the Bibo tea and coffee accessories set. With sleek curved lines and unassuming pieces, the set has a two-fold purpose either for hotels and bars or for the home. There is a napkin holder and a sugar sachet holder for the professional usage, while a biscuit tin and a sugar bowl is available for the domestic use. Contained in a small tray with a central shaft handle for effortless lifting, the design is compact and smooth.
Presenting a birthday gift
In homage to the late Italo-Austrian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass, the popular Twergi bowl is re-designed for the maestro by Alberto Alessi. One hundred years after Sottsass’ birthday, which is on September 14, 1917, Alessi still feels the lasting impression of his mentor, dubbed as the guru of radical designs. The Twergi line–twergi meaning ‘dwarf’ or ‘forest ghost’ in the dialect of the Strona Valley–was initially created by Sottsass in 1990, featuring elements of warm wood and vibrant colors. With only 999 pieces available, this limited edition limewood centrepiece with bright red base is a special handcraft birthday gift for the late revolutionary designer.
Revisiting the extraordinary metallic past
The Extra Ordinary Metal series revisits the rich hundred-year history of Alessi in processing the different ages of metal from the pewter and nickel silver of the past, to mid-era of brass and copper, and finally, to the steel of today. Returning to its malleable brass roots, Alessi develops the new-age Etruscan granulation–a sophisticated technique welding gold or silver spheres onto metal foil. The process also embodies the Golden Ratio that governs shapes in nature, through the Fibonacci sequence by the eponymous Italian mathematician. The result is a series of exemplary trays and baskets in brass.
Lluís Clotet creates the Foix round tray, the Port basket and the Sitges placemat and bottle coaster; Abi Alice makes the Ellipse container; CSA – Francesca Amfitheatrof imagines the Amfitheatrof bowl; Doriana e Massimiliano, the Colombina collection tray; Alessandro Mendini, the Recinto rectangular tray with scalloped edges and handles; LPWK and Emma Silvestris, the LA ROSA fruit bowl; Odile Dec, the Alice tray; Ufficio Tecnico Alessi, the UTA17 round basket rotondo; and Jasper Morrison rounds up the collection with the JM14/35 round tray and the JM17 round basket rotondo.
Adding a shade of golden pink
Alessi continues embellishing everyday items with refined metalwork and adds brilliant new pieces to their Objets Bijoux collection. Laura Polinoro LPWK and Paolo Gerosa mimic the ripples of liquid movement for the ergonomic shape of the Shot, a stainless steel hip flask. This fascinating piece is deftly made portable and easy to slip inside jacket or trouser pockets, reminiscent of the times when people carried flasks on their person for a quick drink.
With a drop of elegance and fashion, each novel piece now has a delightful Golden Pink finish. There is the Minou purse hook and Pip key ring by Frédéric Gooris, the tripod movable trivet in chrome-plated zamak by LPWK and Gabriele Chiave, the Pes paper knife in stainless steel mirror by Giulio Iachetti, the Nut Splitter walnut opener by Jim Hannon-Tan, the Chestnut pill box by Chiave-Bozzoli, and the Bulla bottle opener by Valerio Sommella.
Dreaming of an enchanting blue Christmas
It’s a magical winter wonderland as Christmas fairytale classics come to life with Antonio Aricò’s Blue Christmas visualization. The romance between the toy soldier and the ballerina, the luminescence of the angel and the star, and classic imagery of Father Christmas with his reindeer are three classic Christmas tales. These six characters are imprinted on mugs painted blue and made of fine bone china. Aricò also offers blown glass Christmas baubles highlighting the six characters mentioned. The round ornaments have a mirrored blue base, which is flat so it can be placed on the table as festive designs or hung on the Christmas, windows, or doors. Rounding up the collection are three hanging Christmas figurines. Made of porcelain, these feature the toy soldier, the ballerina, and the reindeer. The interplay of whites and blues, the soft and dark hues echo the dream-like nature and surrealism of winter days.
Decorating bark for Christmas
Michael Boucquillon and Donia Maaoui create expressive nostalgic designs with Bark for Christmas, which expands their 2015 Bark collection. This time, they have a more yuletide theme in mind. Designed for compact spaces, the solid steel fir tree is the perfect solution for those who prefer non-traditional Christmas decorations. The classy piece comes with magnetic accessories: a gold star, and six ornaments in gold, silver, and red. The scratchproof porcelain magnets ensure the Christmas tree retains its glossy shiny surface. For decorations that resonate within and a more personal touch, the magnets can even hold photos, cards, and other trinkets.
In addition to that, Boucquillon and Maaoui augment their collection further with evocative touches of the Barksled. Father Christmas on his sled as he is pulled by reindeers is the charming image of this precious tealight holder. With cozy tealights, the Barksled definitely sets up the warmth and cheer of the holidays.
Crafting the Faberjori
Marcello Jori marries his style with the famous czar jeweller, Peter Carl Fabergé. Echoing the love of the Russian czars for their wives, the Faberjori are six hand-decorated porcelain home ornaments with glittering enamel embellishments. A sprinkling of pure gold completes the decadence of these sophisticated designs. These objects can either by Christmas or Easter eggs. “Piacere, Pulcino il Grande”, “Generale Corallo”, “Mughetti e smeraldi”, “Mongolfiera reale”, “Ape dell’oro”, and “San Bambino” are the names provided by Jori for each piece, breathing life to these lavish historical series.
Providing a round of light
Initially designed by Stefano Giovannoni and Guido Venturini in the late 1980s, the Girotondo is a little cartoon man shaped like the paper-chain cut-outs popular among children. Today a part of the AdiAlessi catalogue, it is introduced in a portable LED table lamp for efficient energy savings with rechargeable battery. The thermoplastic resin scatters the light for more subdued lighting, and a dimmer feature allows three different levels of brightness.
Check out the complete Cutlery Universe Collections at Alessi stores in Bonifacio High Street, BGC; Greenbelt 5, Makati, and Ayala Cebu.
ADVT