London designer Michael Anastassiades has created a range of wine glasses that have to rest inside metal bowls in order to stand up.

Designed for French silverware company Puiforcat, the Sommelier Collection includes glasses in various shapes and sizes for different types of wine, a matching carafe, and a range of stands and coolers.

Cyprus-born Anastassiades, best known for his minimal lighting designs, worked with sommelier Enrico Bernando to create the wine glasses.

Each has faceted sides and a pointed bottom, which means they can only stand upright when placed into accompanying metal supports.

"On the table, anchored to their stand, the glasses are perfectly stable," said Puiforcat. "Laid down outside the stand, they sway softly for a few seconds before finding a new balance."

Superduperstudio produced a set of "spillproof" wine glasses with similarly shaped bases so they rest at an angle when knocked over.

The thin bowls that support the glassware in the Sommelier Collection are silver plated with a mirror-polished finish both inside and out.

"Wherever the glasses are put down, they cast a subtle pattern of geometric reflections that brings new life and structure to the entire table setting," Puiforcat said.

A pair of wine coolers in the same material and with similar forms allow the bottles to be stored either upright or laid at an angle. The collection also includes a champagne bucket and a six-bottle cooler, as well as a coaster for red wine bottles.

Anatassiades also recently made his first foray into furniture design, launching a sofa with London retailer SCP.

His latest lights include lamps formed from two balanced spheres, and a range comprising tubular bulbs and brass rods arranged in various configurations.