Show me the ropes: Flos

Though no longer a new phenomenon, the integration of LED technology into lighting design is still inspiring new typologies – prompting illuminating solutions not previously dreamt of, and facilitating sculptural endeavours that would simply not have been possible before. Italian brand Flos has been at the forefront of developments in lighting design since its establishment in 1962 and continues to work with the world’s most accomplished and adventurous designers to push boundaries aesthetically and technically. A collaboration with the pioneering design duo, Formafantasma, has led to its most recent launch, Wireline, a striking, mould-breaking LED lighting piece.

Formafantasma set the tone for Wireline with their first design for Flos, Wirering, launched in 2018. An LED ring attaches to the wall while the flattened power cable resembles a belt, anchoring the ring to the wall. Describing Wirering as ‘an exercise in reduction’, the duo have now brought this minimising approach to the pendant light.

Wireline again turns the flattened power cable, styled in pink or forest green, into a feature but gives it the additional function of suspending the light source, which takes the form of an extruded ribbed glass tube holding the LEDs. ‘We wanted to pair together a material that was perceived as more industrial, such as the electric cable and something perceived as belonging to tradition and craft which is the glass – even if it is extruded. The combination of these two elements, especially with the ribs on the tube reminding us of Art Deco pieces, is what we think gives a peculiar character to the object,’’ explain the designers, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin.

Boundary stretching, investigative design is what Formafantasma is known for. Though the couple are Italian-born, they met during studies at Design Academy Eindhoven and founded their studio in Amsterdam. They refer to it as their white cube – a place where they can develop ideas away from some of the industry’s main hubs and, subsequently, uninvited influences. It has incubated ideas as varied as a collection of tiles made from volcanic ash for Dzek and uniquely pigmented glassware for Nude, alongside many more research-based projects, often on subjects of sustainability, such as the recent Cambio. For this, the pair investigated the management of timber resources across the globe, developing a ‘wood-oriented network’, contributions from which they built into a multi-media exhibition to expose the findings.

Wireline draws together the designers’ talent for both original product design and installation design. It hangs in a space like a piece of sculpture, either alone or grouped – for increased drama. ‘Though it works in private houses, when installed in big spaces like airports, restaurants, hotel lobbies, you can really use the expressive possibilities of the piece,’ says Farresin. ‘This is why we like to design with light. It is an extremely technical feature but at the same time, it is quite expressive. The fact that the electrical cable, which is usually considered an uninteresting element of lighting is instead becoming the centrepiece, decorative even, it makes the piece much less technical and turns it into an object that connects also on an emotional level with the user.’

Formafanstasma’s creative formula aligns closely with the Flos philosophy for giving space to experimentation, playfulness, craftsmanship and emotion. The free-rein the company has handed its designers since its inception in the 1960s has given rise to some of the world’s most recognisable lighting pieces, from the Castiglioni brothers’ Arco lamp, to instant classics of recent times such as Bellhop Floor, the latest piece from Barber Osgerby and Michael Anastassiades’s Coordinates. First shown in 2019 as a prototype during Miart as a site-specific installation in the exhibition’s VIP lounge, Wireline is now launching as a fully-fledged member of Flos’ iconic lighting collection.

© Architonic