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Among the biggest crowd pleasers at this year’s Milan Design Week was the exhibition Teapots, hosted by Loewe at Palazzo Citterio – an ode to an object that has, for centuries, been at the centre of rituals and domestic gatherings. For his final project as the brand’s creative director Jonathan Anderson asked 25 international artists, architects and designers to reimagine the teapot as a cultural totem.
Standouts included architect David Chipperfield’s cobalt-blue design embellished with a sleek copper handle, gallerist Tommaso Corvi Mora’s teapot tower (with pegs to hang mugs) and American artist Dan McCarthy’s pair of 1ft-tall elongated “facepots”; several others explored the teapot’s origins, dating to the Yuan dynasty in China, where early examples tended to be spherical and fashioned largely from porcelain and heat-resistant zisha clay (Yixing ware). Timothy D’Offay, founder of the fine tea specialist Postcard Teas, called the ensemble “heartbreakingly beautiful” and the experience “like a pilgrimage”.
Loewe is not the only luxury brand taking an interest in teapot design. Tiffany & Co has been producing them since the 19th century; collectors will recall Elsa Peretti’s terracotta and black-glaze version from the 1990s and American postmodern ceramicist Dorothy Hafner’s confetti tea sets. The brand launched a re-edition of its bamboo pot (c1961) in sterling silver recently. Likewise Prada, Louis Vuitton and Gucci have all expanded into teaware, tapping into the $4.3tn global lifestyle market aimed at cultivating holistic health.
“I love mornings, and drinking tea for me is a ritual,” says Colombia-born designer Natalia Criado, known for her sculptural metal tea sets, which sit at the intersection of tableware and jewellery. The bestselling Teiera pot is embellished with a rose quartz stone handle. “Much of my work is rooted in the idea of slowing down and using each piece with intention,” says Criado. The most important part of the ceremony is, after all, the time spent allowing for the perfect brew.
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