The Chin Family from the Alessi Spring/Summer 2007 Collection. Designed by Stefano Giovannoni with Rumiko Takeda, The Chin Family was produced in collaboration with the National Palace Museum of Taiwan.
The collaboration between Alessi and the National Palace Museum of Taiwan grew out of the museum’s wish to open itself yet further to the international scene, and to encourage greater awareness of Chinese history and culture in the West.
“Mr. Chin†is a new chapter in the ludic design language that characterizes Stefano’s work: instead of the usual method of casting a single piece of plastic from a single injection, the character-objects are made with separate moulds (head, hat, body, foot, pompom) which are then assembled like wooden soldiers or porcelain dolls, thereby giving greater articulation to the typical wit and refinement of Giovannoni’s decorations of the clothes, which are hand-painted.
Could these products be Alessi’s new strategy into the Asian/Chinese market?
Anyway this design somehow reminded me of the “Miss Samsui Chopstick Holderâ€, designed by a student from Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore. If I have remembered correctly, this design is also from one of the heritage centre in Singapore.
[ The Chin Family found via Unicahome ]
Just saw this and although is an old post, i think is quite a repulsive project. If alessi is trying to enter the asian/chinese market with this product that obviously stereotypes asian features into slanted slitty eyes, it has no chance. For the american or italian markets where they like kitschy portrayals of oriental culture and to invoke a laugh maybe this will sell, but for a design concscious or affluent chinese homeowner to buy this and put it in their house so that they can feel amused by these caricatures of their culture and features? Not in a million years. This is for tourists in cheap tourist shops, and unbefitting for the collection of alessi nor the taiwan national museum.