An inox-fanatic's love letter to stainless steel

Inox
/ˈiːnɒks/ (EE-noks) or /ˈɪnɒks/ (IN-oks) - Noun

Stainless
Etymology: from French. Inox, short for inoxydable ('non-oxidizing'), referring to the material’s resistance to rust and corrosion.

My version of 'does it come in black?' has always been 'does it come in stainless steel?'.

The terms 'inox', 'stainless', 'edelstahl', '18/10', '18/8' accurately represent my saved searches across pretty much all online auction and resell platforms, and my camera roll is heavily dominated by equal parts photos of my 3 year old son Bruno, and high and low steel finds.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been collecting (both physically and digitally) trinkets, the shinier the better. I specifically remember my heart skipping a beat when I came across this photo of a prototype egg cup by Achille Castiglioni for Alessi (that sadly never made it into production).

As an object it’s incredibly appealing to me, and looking back maybe that was the defining object that pushed me over the edge, from curious to obsessive. It symbolises many things for me; it's weird. It's functional. It's sculptural. It's playful. But due to it being stainless steel, it doesn’t feel like a gimmick.

A stainless steel obsession

My relentless stainless steel consumption and research (if you can call folders in the ‘saved’ tab on Instagram 'research') eventually led to something somewhat productive, and in 2023 the Instagram account @tutto_inox (formerly known as @inox_4_ever) was born. I’d love to say that I had a well crafted strategy behind it, but I originally just thought of it as a dump for my saved content, an 'I might as well publish something since I already spend this much time researching' approach. But it quickly became apparent to me that there’s a wide spread appreciation (and hype) around the material.

I’ve tried to get to the bottom of where this obsession of mine comes from, and landed on it probably being a combination of the child-like appeal of shiny things, and a slightly more intellectualized passion for radically practical, utilitarian objects. Objects you know will just be there for you, year in, year out.

Accidentally ruining your Nonno’s aluminum Bialetti moka pot by throwing it in the dishwasher is a generational trauma and you just can’t have those types of energy thieves in your life right now. Life’s too short to surround yourself with cookware and utensils that you can’t throw in the dishwasher.

There’s also something deeply reassuring about the versatility of the material. I can’t think of many materials that lend themselves equally well to industrial manufacturing, and craft practices, across such a wide range of categories.

From strictly utilitarian no-name items, where the shape of the object is simply a result from the desired function, and the material’s capabilities (like the wavy handrails frequently used in Japan to reduce strain on knees and joints), to high-end in industrial design (like Ralph Krämer's breakfast set for German manufacturer Mono), hand-crafted items (like Martin Brühl's draped dining table) to full-blown interior design and cladding (like the 'Altana Palazzo Pucci’ by Gae Aulenti), architecture (like the Lloyd’s building by Richard Rogers) even all the way to the automotive industry (like the DMC Delorean by Giorgetto Giugiaro).

I also find that there can be a general misconception about stainless steel, and it being an inherently cold/stern material. But looking at the different types of finishes (I feel very passionately for the massively underrated, satin finish, like Stelton uses for their ‘Cylinda’ line by Arne Jacobsen in 1967) and techniques applicable to the material the result can really vary from highly technical, precise and mass produced goods, to funky, organic and almost fluid-like works. One example of the embodiment of the latter is late Greek sculptor Philolaos Tloupas, whose work is experimental, sculptural and carries an air of patina.

Stainless steel is everywhere

We live with and around stainless steel, whether we pay attention to it or not, and once you put your Inox goggles on you quickly start to see (and appreciate) it all around you. Like when photographer Adrianna Glaviano captured this garage door in Brussels (that I recently, after years of deep scrolling, reverse image googling, and google street view walking got confirmed as stainless steel from a collector/antique dealer on Instagram).

During the roughly 100 years that stainless steel has been around, it’s had its ups and downs in popularity but it’s held its position as a key material used by some of the most significant designers and architects over the past decades.

To me, apart from its visual appeal and versatility, the use of stainless steel in a product or project also symbolises an uncompromised and committed approach to design. If you aim for a timeless design you should invest in a timeless material. A great example of this is French designer Maria Pergay, whose body of work is dominated by stainless steel and feels as relevant today as it was 30-50 years ago.

Design trends are notoriously cyclical, and today we might be approaching peak Inox in terms of the popularity of stainless steel. Maybe it’s partly fuelled by the increasing global influence of South Korean culture and design, where it's frequently used by emerging designers/studios such as Hyunseog Oh of Niceworkshop, Seongil Choi, Lee Sisan and Seohu Ahn of Studio Practice, to name a few. Or maybe it’s a broader cultural movement where we, in a day and age of fast consumption and algorithm driven distractions, are drawn to things that radiate reliability and permanence.

Not to go all 'we live in a society' on you, but in an era where responsible and sustainable living is so top of mind, the sheer durability and longevity of stainless steel is what (in my unbiased) opinion puts it in a league of its own.

Rather than diamonds, stainless steel is forever.