The Unofficial watering hole for design insiders during the Salone is Bar Basso
Bar Basso remembered the late and great James Irvine with a new gin and tonic glass designed by Michael Young.
Maurizio Stochetto & the Bar Basso created a cocktail glass in James’ memory to honour the legendary friendship that was formed – in the wee hours of the morning, over a Negroni or 2 !! .
Michael Young designed a gin & tonic tumbler glass ( james’s drink of choice ) in memory of his good friend, who dies unexpectedly in Feb 2013 aged 54
michael young ( with his son ) and james irvine in 2012
The project by Maria Cristina Didero and Maurizio Stoccheto has created Chelsea Boy, a clean and functional Wonderglass tumbler; a memory of the creative designer who left us all too soon.
Wonderglass received the honor to pay a tribute to James Irvine, by contributing to the commemorative exhibition at Milan Design Week’s iconic meeting point Bar Basso, with a special cocktail glass designed by Michael Young.
This was a wonderful opportunity to toast James’s brilliance in the city he called home
James was recognised as the design world’s ” Unofficial cultural attaché in Milan ”
” The act of living and working needs a balance between the roots and the visions ” – these are the reasons why James Irvine decided to move to Milan after being educated in the United Kingdom.
james irvine at his home away from home – bar basso
Milan, art, architecture, and a few places have become a network of endless inspiration: the city itself an ethnographic field evolving from a personal mania to a concept, and finally to industrial design products.”
Michael Young a long time friend of James Irvine, was asked by Maurizio Stochetto to design the first ( in what may be annual event ) of the commemorative glasses
Maurizio expects the glasses to be in production towards the end of 2015
Launch night at Bar Basso
A bar which many have ever been inside … and many may not remember ! …
Bar Basso is one of very few cocktail bars in the world where the tradition and charm of the great international bars is still alive and kicking.
A place for connoisseurs who like to enjoy a flawless drink in style.
A truly cult bar for sophisticated drinking devotees and of course for designers.
James at Bar Basso in the middle of the pack – amongst the design throng – in 2001
Maurizio Stochetto
History of Bar Basso
Bar Basso is one of very few cocktail bars where the tradition and charm of the great international bars is still alive and kicking today.
A place for connoisseurs who still like to enjoy a flawless drink in style. A truly cult bar for sophisticated drinking devotees, Bar Basso was the first-ever bar in Milan to introduce the “aperitif” to everyday folk.
While before cocktails could only be found at the exclusive lounge bars of luxurious international grand hotels, since 1947 cocktails have been served shaken and stirred at this local neighbourhood bar.
Today the Bar Basso cocktail list includes more than 500 drinks, from the great classics such as the Bloody Mary, Manhattan and Martini to the newly invented ones, such as the Rossini – especially created by Mirko Stocchetto to appeal to the ladies, the celebrated hazelnut ice-cream cocktail Mangia e Bevi, which has been famous since the late 60s, and not forgetting, the real trademark drink of Bar Basso, the Negroni Sbagliato
About Michael Young
The British born designer graduated from Kingston University in 1992.
Early in his career, he worked with the designer Tom Dixon in London.
In 1994 he started is own studio, his studio operated in England, Iceland, Taiwan before finally settling in Hong Kong in 2006.
Sir Terrance Conran selected Young as the Most Inspirational British Designer (1997).
Young designs in a wide range of typologies of objects such as headphones, glassware, watches, bicycles, furniture, lighting and bags.
In his work, he is interested in combining design with technical abilities of the local industry, this means often working directly with Chinese manufacturers
Throughout his career, he worked with clients such as Coca-Cola, Bacardi, Cappellini, Cathay Pacific, Giant Bicycles, Magis and George Jensen and Trussardi.
Michael Young has been the Creative Director for 100% Design Shanghai (2010, 2011, 2012),
Prior to that he was the Creative Director for 100% Design Tokyo (2008) and Creative Director of the Asian Aerospace show (2009).
His work has been exhibited in the Pompidou Museum and the Louvre Museum in Paris, Design Museum in London and solo exhibitions in Kyoto, Miami, Hong Kong, Milan, Paris and Belgium.
