Starting from the principle that cutlery is not held for long and so does not need to be shaped to the hand, the ergonomics of Dry are not in the handle but in the part that comes in contact with food.

These pieces of cutlery are a reinterpretation of the central and southern European tradition: the spoon with an ample bowl, the fork with four long tines, the knife with a very long blade.

The knife derives from a rectangular section of a stainless steel sheet cut into regular bars, the size of the handle, that are hot forged to progressively flatten the knife end (later heat tempered in salt baths).

The spoon and fork are also made from a metal sheet, but divided into small blanks, and sheared in two phases, front and back, to avoid metal waste.

Two details are maintained throughout the series: the handles are identical except in thickness and the slender neck, a significant visual paradox since this is the point of greatest bending pressure.

Dry was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1984.

designer: achille castiglioni
producer: alessi
design award: compasso d’oro
materials: stainless steel
period: 1982