Max Le Chinois was one of the first items to be designed by Philippe Starck for Alessi and bears many of his design hallmarks. His fascination with aeronautical forms (his father designed aeroplanes) are borne out here with the shape of the basket which is reminiscent of an aeroplane nose cone and the tiny feet shaped like the wings. While it is undoubtedly a colander it does have many other applications. It comes with a plastic insert allowing use as a wine cooler, a vase or whatever else takes your fancy. Max Le Chinois is part of the Alessi Officina collection which includes their most sophisticated, experimental and innovative products, as well as small-scale and limited productions.