‘Archivio’ collection
Archivio is a collection taken from the Alessi catalogue and is based on the designs kept in the company museum. The Alessi Museum, established in 1998 in the Crusinallo di Omegna factory, has collected objects that embody more than a century of research in the field of applied arts and have been produced by the company from 1921 to the present day. With more than a thousand authors represented in its collection, the museum offers an impressive cross-section of 20th and 21st century design. A rich reservoir from which Alessi can draw to open up new terrain, as in early 2025 with the new edition of the Arran tray by Enzo Mari and the Maya basket by Giulio Confalonieri.
‘Maya’ basket, design Giulio Confalonieri
In the early 1970s, a group of Italian graphic designers turned their attention to the overlap between graphic design and industrial design. The collection of baskets and trays designed by Silvio Coppola, Giulio Confalonieri, Franco Grignani, Bruno Munari and Pino Tovaglia for Alessi - known at the time as "Exhibition Design" - was one of the most important results of this research. Among the designs proposed by Giulio Confalonieri, the Maya basket was an essential and at the same time mysteriously reflective line. A true graphic design that evolved in three dimensions and was translated into sheet steel by cold forming, it features the sharp angles typical of the 1970s, with the fine joining details refining and softening the whole. In this edition, the elegant original version in polished stainless steel comes to life as two new, complementary, iridescent colour versions that move between the colour poles of green and violet. A dynamic game that interacts with the viewer's perspective and enables a different perception of the forms.
"Maya", design Giulio Confalonieri 2025 (1997)
Round basket in 18/10 stainless steel mirror polished.
Round basket in steel coloured with iridiscent epoxy resin, Green-purple
Round basket in steel coloured with iridiscent epoxy resin, Purple-green
Vassoio Arran, design Enzo Mari
The Arran tray was designed by Enzo Mari for Danese in Milan in 1961 and follows in the footsteps of an industrial design predecessor by the same author: the Putrella centrepiece (1957). The tray is one of the best designs of the time and was put back into production by Alessi in 1997 - an outstanding testimony to a happy era of Italian design. Arran is now available both in the original polished stainless-steel version and in two new iridescent versions in shades of green and purple. A subtle analogy emerges between these colours and the time that Arran passes through: if you look at the tray from different perspectives, the colour changes continuously, in an elusive movement of shades and reflections. The time that has passed since the first edition has also changed our perspective and thus our perception of the forms of this object, which nevertheless continues to demonstrate its expressive power.
‘Arran’, design Enzo Mari
Rectangular tray in 18/10 stainless steel, mirror polished.
Rectangular tray in steel coloured with iridescent epoxy resin, Greenpurple.
Rectangular tray in steel coloured with iridescent epoxy resin, Purple
