Ichendorf Milano’s Umami collection transforms glassware into edible art

Ichendorf Milano’s Umami collection invites a peculiar kind of looking: one where form and sustenance merge within transparent walls of crystal. Each glass holds miniature figures inspired by Japanese and Eastern cuisine, rendered in delicate detail and suspended in a moment between emptiness and purpose.

The collection takes its name from the Japanese concept of umami, that elusive fifth taste which lingers on the palate long after the first flavour has passed. It is a sensation difficult to articulate, one that speaks to depth and satisfaction beyond the immediate moment. Alessandra Baldereschi, the designer behind this series, has translated that lingering quality into visual form: these are vessels that invite contemplation before they invite use.

The glassware presents a subtle inversion of expectation. What one normally perceives as empty space becomes occupied by narrative. A grain of rice crowned in coral red sits beside the glass like a companion. Inside another vessel, a smaller figure takes shape, suggesting the intimacy of a meal observed from within rather than without. The clear crystal becomes a frame, and the whole arrangement rests on paired wooden chopsticks that ground the composition in its cultural reference.

This is glassware that asks to be held and studied, where the pleasure of looking precedes the pleasure of drinking. Each piece belongs to the Ichendorf Milano philosophy that every object carries a story, and in this collection, that narrative flows directly from the kitchen to the cabinet to the contemplative hand.

Imagery courtesy of Ichendorf Milano (@ichendorfmilano).