Dry

For Achille Castiglioni objects had to fulfill two essential requirements: they should offer practical solutions to the small problems arising while “being at the table,” possibly with intelligent functional innovation, and they should also satisfy the public’s taste, for example, for the finish of metal.

Born in Milan in 1918, he began working as an architect and designer in the 1940s together with his brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo. He is one of the great masters of Italian design and was a founding member of ADI, the Association for Industrial Design. Among the numerous awards he has received, his designs have been honoured with nine Compasso d'Oro Awards. His work as a designer was characterised by an unmistakable mixture of simplicity, irony and entertainment, coupled with a pronounced curiosity for technology and new materials and the way objects are used. In the MoMa in New York alone, 14 of his works are on display. Among the various projects realised for Alessi is Dry: the company's first cutlery service. He passed away in 2002.