Alessi Merdolino Toilet Brush (1993)

Created as part of the F.F.F. (Family Follows Fiction) metaproject, an operation in the early 1990s that aimed to explore the affective structure of shapes and objects, starting from the idea of reproducing the object creation process followed by children and primitive cultures. In Stefano Giovannoni's design, the toilet brush is transformed from an "off limits" object into a svelte pot holding a long and strangely inviting shrub. This product scandalised the orthodox world of design, and has been hugely successful over the years.

Approximate size: 5" x h. 19"