The product comes first

Foscarini has always made the product its focus, and it is this project culture that is the driving force behind its choices. Its collaboration with international designers, both well known and up-and-coming, an ability to identify and develop the winning elements of the concept at the heart of every project and interpreting and developing these coherently, has enabled Foscarini to take its place as a dynamic, inventive and creative entity in the panorama of lighting design. These qualities have earned the company numerous awards, including the Compasso d’Oro for Mite and Tite designed by Marc Sadler, which opened new frontiers of research and experimentation in the field of materials and production technology.

Emotion and expressive language

Foscarini’s raw material is emotion. From birth through development of every project emotion plays the key role. It also imbues the environments furnished by the collection. Emotions, innovative thinking and an openness to contemporary language also typify the events bearing Foscarini’s signature. These include participation in the industry’s main trade fairs and, in general, those initiatives which get the company talked about: from multi media publications, and publishing projects, to tying the brand to prestigious cultural events. For example, in 2009 Foscarini, once again partnered with the Venice Biennale, an internationally prestigious collaboration to which Foscarini brought its skill and creativity in an environment of shared values.

The planning dialogue

The centre of the company’s communication remains its dialogue with interior designers and architects. Foscarini has always emphasized the personalisation of space, through the use of multiple models and their intriguing interaction in custom combinations. Lamps imbued with deeply differing personalities can transform a space into a backdrop of emotions. Through a series of displays aimed at consolidating the brand on the international stage, Foscarini unfailingly offers different ways to read the collection. Its eclectic, emotional nature is visible in the luminous travelling display “Fiber Evolution”, put together with Marc Sadler, which during 2008 was seen in six major design capitals in Europe and the United States. This was followed, in 2009, by a series of events featuring Tropico, a project developed in collaboration with Giulio Iacchetti; in 2010 the installation-event “Foscarini Evolution”- in Frankfurt- emphasises the collection’s technical and materials’ interpretation.

Diesel with Foscarini

2009 was also noted for the licensing agreement with Diesel, that led to the development and distribution of the well-known lifestyle brand’s Lighting collection. The licence, valid for five years, laid the foundation for diversification through a product line designed by Diesel, that enabled Foscarini to open a dialogue with a young public.

Financial results

This entrepreneurial spirit has enabled the company, headed by Alessandro Vecchiato and Carlo Urbinati, to post positive results also for 2009, and confirm a strong coherence in pursuing its work programmes. Turnover, in excess of 30 million euros, was consolidated. This was obtained from 2,500 points of sales between specialist lighting and interiors shops, in almost 50 countries worldwide, with a 73% export share.

These are the ingredients of Foscarini’s success, a company which, over the past 27 years, has triumphed on the design scene, proving itself a stylish and groundbreaking sector leader.