Once merely a pair of twigs used for cooking in deep pots 5,000 years ago, the simple chopsticks have spread across Asia as one of the most beloved and versatile eating utensils. With travel came cultural adaptations — from differing lengths for specific users, to intricately carved sets in precious stones and metals, to modern disposables stowed in your takeout. One might think centuries of iteration have exhausted the possibilities of these tableside sticks, yet humans still find ways to innovate. For Milan Design Week’s 64th edition, Shanghai-based platform S–3 presents “CHOPSTICKS 箸.”
Ultra-lightweight carved titanium chopsticks by Big-Game Designs and Pasta Chopsticks by Jin Kuramoto show how the ancient eating utensil continues to evolve alongside the world.
Curated by journalist Yoko Choy, the exhibition reframes chopsticks and related objects through the contemporary design lens of sixteen creative teams across Japan, China, and South Korea. Among them, Mario Tsai Studio (CN) takes us back in time with a sharpener that shaves live wood into ancestral forms. Meanwhile, Big-Game (CN), Niceworkshop (KR), and Haus of Hu (CN) teleport us into the future with ultra-lightweight carved titanium, ergonomic metal, and modular resin-metal hybrid variations. Jin Kuramoto (JP) suggests sustainable options with his Pasta Chopsticks, and Aldo Cibic (IT) introduces beginner-friendly, grippy-tipped designs.
Mario Tsai’s sharpener transforms twigs into chopsticks reminiscent of their first variation thousands of years ago.
Not only an ode to the chopsticks, the installation, located in Milan’s vibrant Sarpi/Chinatown district, invites guests to witness how shared traditions evolve into distinct contemporary narratives, linking East Asian design heritage with global creative practice.
Exhibit Information
CHOPSTICKS 箸 by S—3 ⚲
Via Pietro Giannone, 3, 20154 Milano MI, Italy
Open 1000 — 1900, 4.21 — 4.26
Images via S—3
