CHOPSTICKS 箸

A platform connecting East Asian design with global ideas and practices, S—3 introduces itself to an international audience through its first initiative, CHOPSTICKS 箸, presented at Milan Design Week, one of the world’s most significant design events. Curated by design journalist and creative consultant Yoko Choy, the project brings together 16 creatives: 11 product designers and studios, including Aldo Cibic (IT), Big-Game (CH), Duyi Han (CN), Haus of Hu (CN), Jin Kuramoto (JP), Joongho Choi (KR), Kuo Duo (KR), Mario Tsai (CN), Niceworkshop (KR), Sae Honda (JP) and We+ (JP); three graphic designers, Shin Shin (KR), Sun Yao (CN) and Yui Takada (Allright Graphics, JP)); and two exhibition designers, AIM Architecture for space (BE) and Aoiro for scent (JP), shaping the visitor’s experience.

A globally appreciated object, chopsticks serve as both a cultural symbol and a timeless design reference, bridging heritage and modernity, reminding designers and users alike that meaningful form grows from the values it carries. Chopsticks embody one of East Asia’s most iconic and oldest design typologies, an example of how elegant simplicity can emerge from deep cultural tradition. Rooted in centuries of ritual and philosophy, their refined proportions and functional purity continue to inspire contemporary design thinking, emphasising balance, tactility, and sustainability.

At the heart of CHOPSTICKS 箸 lies a question that has shaped centuries of exchange: what binds China, Japan, and Korea through culture, and how does that shared foundation manifest in contemporary creativity? Historically, the region was sustained by a deep network of cultural coherence, a shared system of values, aesthetics, and thought. Common threads can be found in Confucian ethics of social harmony, Buddhist and Taoist philosophies of balance and impermanence, the use of classical Chinese characters as carriers of meaning and artistry, architectural and material traditions shaped by craftsmanship, and etiquette practices centred on daily rituals such as food and tableware.

This enduring cultural ecosystem provides a grounded context for examining design and creativity today. While each country continues to evolve along its own modern trajectory, shaped by differing social experiences, education systems, and design sectors, the underlying sensibilities remain interrelated. The shared heritage has become a quiet, connective rhythm beneath the diversity of contemporary expression. Today, this allows designers in East Asia to articulate perspectives that are at once historically rooted and globally conversant, developing in parallel as distinct practices yet continuously enriched through dialogue with global ideas, technologies, and aesthetics.

By bringing together creative talents from China, Japan, and South Korea, CHOPSTICKS 箸 seeks to reveal how this interplay of continuity and transformation becomes visible in design. Each designer’s work embodies a conversation between inherited cultural memory and present-day experience, between what remains distinctly regional and what resonates universally. Through the reinterpretation of a familiar object, chopsticks, the exhibition invites audiences to perceive how shared traditions evolve into unique modern narratives, extending East Asia’s cultural coherence into the design language of our time.

4.20 Monday 12:00–19:00 VIP Preview (by invitation only 4.21 Tuesday 10:00–19:00 4.22 Wednesday 10:00–16:00 Cocktail 17:00–20:00, by invitation only 4.23 Thursday 10:00–19:00 4.24 Friday 10:00–19:00 4.25 Saturday 10:00–19:00 4.26 Sunday 10:00–15:00