Stainless Steel Serveware Might Seem Like a New Trend, but Growing Up in an Indian Household, I Wonder Is It Just Our Everyday Dishes Rebranded?
Viral Instagram posts have reconciled this modern design trend as drawing from Indian katoris and thalis, but is it appropriation, or simply cultural exchange?
Growing up on the southern coast of India, my dining table was no stranger to the touch of glimmering chrome thalis accompanied by stainless steel katoris with a tumbler to match. So when the chrome serveware trend began to monopolize my feed, it tugged at a buried sense of nostalgia.
And then, more recently, my chrome decor-obsessed algorithm proposed the latest Scandinavian jewelry organizer — which happened to be none other than a traditional thali (a typically stainless steel plate with molded compartments so each course has its own spot). That's when I was met with the late realization of the material's Eurocentric rebranding.
This viral video caused enough of a rustle that, on one hand, I saw plenty of South Asians correcting the internet that while you could adorn a thali in rings, necklaces, and bracelets alike, it wasn't born to fulfil this purpose. On the other hand, it was enough to spark a nascent wave of commercial branding where my Vinted homepage was a chock-a-block with brushed steel and beaten chrome thalis with product tags reading 'viral/trendy/modern Scandinavian jewelry bowl'.
And while I like the idea of repurposing these storied plates, I'd be remiss not to admit that its stripped identity tugged at my conscience. So, here's an exploration of the significance of this metallic material's rise to fame and how to practice and promote cultural exchange in design. So, let's talk about it.
What Is the Significance of Stainless Steel Serveware in India?
From lovingly served street food to a heartwarming meal at home, steel and chrome thalis are a common backdrop.
"I can really only speak from my own experience of growing up in a South Indian Tamil household, where stainless steel was simply the material of the kitchen," says Ananth Ramaswamy, founder of Arall. "We cooked with it, served with it and ate from it. It's inexpensive, hygienic, incredibly durable and completely practical for Indian food."
He explains that stainless steel dinnerware became increasingly commonplace in Indian homes in the decades after independence, as industrialization made it more widely available, often translating familiar Indian vessels and forms that had previously been made in brass, bronze or other metals into this new material.
"What I particularly love is how it ages. It starts highly polished and reflective, but over years of washing, handling and eating, it develops this wonderful soft, brushed surface. There is something very beautiful about seeing that use," he adds.
"There is also a strange classism around stainless steel, including within India. Glass, porcelain and ceramic can sometimes be perceived as more sophisticated or aspirational, while steel is seen as cheap or utilitarian. I find that quite absurd. To me, stainless steel is one of the most sensible and beautiful ways of serving and eating Indian food."
Ananth Ramaswamy established Arall in 2020. Born in Bangalore, he moved to London in 2008 to study architecture at the Architectural Association. Most recently, his work has seen him leading design and product integrity for the Doyle Collection, a luxury hotel group with properties across the UK, Ireland and the USA. Previously, he worked at an award-winning architecture practice in London in diverse sectors, ranging from luxury hospitality to high-end residential developments. These included the iconic Battersea Power Station residences. Aside from his architectural work, he is a partner in and Creative Director of Chester’s, a luxury furniture business in Bangalore, India. Ananth has also directed an AA Visiting School in Bangalore, which explored bridging the divide between designers and manufacturing, a topic he continues to research.
How Has Cultural Rebranding Changed Its Reputation?
Many a hand-eaten meal continue to be served on these plates with rich history.
"What interests me is what gets lost when an object is removed from its original context. If an Indian stainless steel plate is sold as a ‘chrome jewellery dish’, you might see it simply as a fashionable design object without knowing anything about where it came from, what it was made for, or the much longer history of these objects in Indian homes," Ananth notes.
"For me, it comes back to who gets to tell the story. Cultures have always borrowed from one another, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. The problem is when we pick and choose what we find aesthetically desirable while leaving the history and provenance behind.
"Something considered completely ordinary, or even cheap, in one context can suddenly become desirable once it has been renamed and presented through another cultural lens. That is where I think recognition and authorship really matter."
And I couldn't agree more. In curating your own taste, you will find yourself falling in love with designs from coordinates across the map. Not to mention, the beauty of modern design is the way traditional motifs, materials, and silhouettes take on new lives depending on the era they're in. However, as Ananth aptly put it, taking a moment to appreciate its lore will inspire an authentic relationship between you and your space.
How Should You Explore Cultural Exchange in Design?
"I actually don’t think we can put all of that responsibility on the consumer. People buy things because they like them, find them useful, or, in part, to its trend-led fame. We can’t expect everyone to research the depths of cultural history for every object they buy," says Ananth.
"I think the greater responsibility lies with the businesses and brands selling them. If you are taking an existing object or design tradition, reframing it for a new audience and commercially benefiting from it, then I think it is incumbent on you to communicate where it comes from and what it was originally used for."
"That doesn’t mean these objects shouldn’t travel or be used differently. Cultural exchange is an important part of design and always has been. It is simply about being transparent about provenance and giving recognition where it is due. In fact, knowing that your ‘chrome jewellery dish’ has another life as an everyday Indian object makes it far more interesting."
But until this shift translates to mainstream design, my advice is to listen when discussions erupt. Much like the thali, when the dupatta (re-identified as a Scandinavian scarf) became a topic of conversation among the virtual masses and Indian designers raised awareness about the garment's history, it became a moment of learning and transparency for the fashionable.
So rather than giving up designing it into your lifestyle, I recommend setting your dinner table in stainless steel serving dishes with the intention of extending an informed backstory to anyone who offers a compliment. And trust me, these traditional plates and their reimagined contemporary iterations will beckon a handful of compliments from a design eye.
Shop the Look
Just like the Japanese tabis dating back to the 15th century and the mandarin collar shirts born during the Qing dynasty, these traditional plates have a history that long predates their current hype. And the simple act of appropriately labeling an item boasts a sense of cultural appreciation that no one could fault you for.
So, while you cultivate layered vignettes in your home, adorned with memorabilia from your travels or even just borrowed from the zeitgeist, style it with pride and a bookmark of knowledge to earn your salt as a truly global design enthusiast.
