The convergence of two design worlds—different in language, purpose, and field of application—gives rise to an unprecedented dialogue in which both brands transcend their own boundaries. From this exchange comes the first collaboration between Alessi and C.P. Company, presented during Milan Design Week 2026 through an installation and a new collection inspired by the context of the factory.

The Collaboration

On one side, the domestic object: a synthesis of industrial design, capable of transforming everyday gestures into experiences. On the other, the garment: rooted in a workwear ethos deeply embedded in the C.P. Company archive. Both brands look to their archives as continuously evolving laboratories, where the human factor represents the true driving force of the project.

Not only technical expertise, but also sensitivity, memory, intuition, and critical thinking: it is through the hands and vision of those who design and produce that ideas take shape and transform. In this process, the factory is not merely a place of production but a foundational space. It is here that ideas are tested, refined, and perfected through an ongoing dialogue between design and making. An environment of raw materials and repeated gestures, where accumulated experience becomes shared knowledge and manufacturing culture evolves into a tool for research.

In this perspective, the project echoes the concept of Opera Aperta theorized by Umberto Eco: the object and the garment do not exist as closed systems, but remain open to multiple interpretations, activated by the experience of those who use them. In the dialogue between the two worlds, the object embraces the logic of material evolution, while the garment engages with the culture of industrial design. Two autonomous identities that, without losing coherence, find common ground in a shared design approach: transforming memory into innovation.

At the heart of the project lies a ritual deeply rooted in Italian creative culture: coffee. In Italy, every product story begins with a coffee—whether enjoyed in a design studio in Bologna, birthplace of C.P. Company, or at a workbench in a factory in Omegna, home of Alessi. It is a shared gesture that opens the dialogue and marks the beginning of the creative process—the moment when ideas are exchanged and prototypes begin to take shape.

The Collection

The Alessi – C.P. Company collection includes a selection of iconic Alessi objects reinterpreted for this collaboration in a new and refined black PVD finish, alongside an overshirt in Nylon B presented in three exclusive colorways: Total Eclipse, Malachite Green, and Deep Lavender.

The entire collection is the result of experimental processes and research into color and finishes. The Alessi offering features the 9090 espresso coffee maker, designed by Richard Sapper in 1979, presented here in a limited edition of 999 individually numbered pieces; the double-wall mug and two cups with saucers and coffee spoons designed by Jean Nouvel in 2005; and the Arran tray, created by Enzo Mari in 1961.

For this special edition, each object undergoes manual sandblasting followed by a black PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) coating process. This treatment applies an ultra-thin layer of metal to the surface, enhancing its visual depth and tactile quality. The choice of PVD is not merely aesthetic but methodological: it transfers to metal the same experimental logic that C.P. Company applies to textiles, where dyeing and finishing processes interact with the material, altering its texture and performance over time. With use, the surface of the objects evolves progressively, acquiring a unique material character.

The C.P. Company overshirt, made from Nylon B—a brushed multifilament nylon inspired by military fabrics—is garment-dyed to achieve distinctive chromatic depth and a worn-in effect. Two of the three exclusive colorways, Malachite Green and Deep Lavender, draw inspiration from the work uniforms of Officina Alessi technicians, introduced during the company’s rebranding led by Ettore Sottsass in 1983.

The overshirt also features a custom lens on the sleeve, combining the iconic Alessi factory graphic with the C.P. Company logo. The reference to the factory serves as the fil rouge of the entire collaboration, beginning with the graphic logo—derived from a technical drawing cartouche from the Alessi workshop—where the two brand logos appear and are applied across all elements of the collection.