Philippe Malouin's 'Vite' Moka Pot for Alessi Debuts at Milan Design Week

At Milan Design Week, Alessi unveiled the 'Vite' moka pot, designed by Philippe Malouin, a Canadian designer based in London. His creative spark came from a scrapyard close to Alessi's headquarters at Lake Orta, where he observed mechanical components that inspired the screw-like base. Collaborating with Alessi's design director, Carlo Gasparini, for several years, Malouin developed a moka pot suitable for both flame and induction cooktops. The finished product showcases a die-cast aluminum base and comes in brown, grey, or green tops, along with an all-aluminum variant featuring a dark green handle. Malouin admires Richard Sapper's '9090' moka pot as an exemplary case of functional design. Alessi’s moka pot range has included works by Aldo Rossi, Michele De Lucchi, and David Chipperfield since the 1970s. Alberto Alessi, the company's president, is the grandson of Alfonso Bialetti, who made the coffee maker famous in the 1930s. In 2022, Malouin also designed a collection for Athens gallery The Breeder using found objects.