Mikasa will look both forward and back when it opens its Madison Avenue showroom doors to the trade this month for the tabletop show.
The brand will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Italian Countryside pattern with modern, lifestyle-oriented updates. Its other formal and casual introductions in dinnerware, glassware and metals run the gamut from the latest vintage looks to geometric shapes.
Enhancing the Italian Countryside assortment is a new wood serveware collection, a combination of acacia wood and ceramic featuring Italian-inspired embossing. The collection includes a set of either three bowls or four square plates on a wooden tray, a ceramic salad bowl with wooden servers and a chip ’n dip. Metal serveware has also been added to the Italian Countryside family.
Mikasa has also opted to take Italian Countryside to the formal side of the business with the introduction of Italian Countryside Platinum. A traditional fine porcelain shape with detailed platinum banding takes elements from Italian Countryside, offering an upscale version of the casual design.
“Mikasa is proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Italian Countryside in 2013,” said Patrick Kelly, Mikasa’s vice president and chief marketing officer. “This pattern has resonated with consumers due to its timeless design and continues to be one of the best-selling collections in tableware.” The two new mixed-media collections, he added, “will have great appeal not just to our loyal customer base in the collection but to anyone looking for great entertaining items or gifts.”
Other formal dinnerware introductions from Mikasa include the Vintage Lace and Decatur patterns. Vintage Lace features a platinum-banded, white-on-white floral design on a scalloped bone china shape. Decatur borrows elements from classical architecture, incorporating a platinum scrollwork motif in porcelain. Coordinating stemware and giftware are available for both patterns.
On the casual dinnerware side, Mikasa is introducing Swirl Square Banded, an expansion of its popular Swirl collection. It’s available in either round or square shapes and features a bold graphite band on the inner and outer rim of the plates.
In Gourmet Basics, Linden offers a reactive mocha glaze on a stoneware body. The 16-piece set comes with several accessories.
Three key stemware shapes from Mikasa are Decatur, Locket and Adelynn. Decatur features a deep pantograph-etched scroll design on the bowl of each glass, inspired by the detailed gothic design work found on wrought-iron gates. Locket stemware and barware merge the detailing on vintage keys and locks with an intricate scroll design. Adelynn stemware offers a delicate swirling optic effect with a banded detailed design. Adelynn has a coordinating dinnerware pattern.
In giftware, the crystal Sunflower Fields collection, based on an organic motif, is available in a number of different bowl and platter sizes in clear frosted or yellow, while Pebblestone lends an optic design and wide variety of fashion-forward shapes for a modern look.