Founded in Merano, Italy, in 1962, FLOS is recognized as a leading international-level manufacturer of top-end designer lighting and innovative lighting systems for both residential and professional sectors. FLOS sports a catalogue packed with lighting created by legendary names in the history of design including Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Philippe Starck, Antonio Citterio, Piero Lissoni, Marcel Wanders, Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison, Patricia Urquiola, Ron Gilad, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Michael Anastassiades, Vincent Van Duysen, Nendo, Formafantasma, and many others.
1960s design icon, the Splügen Braü suspension light invokes the busy, bustling energy of a beehive. Designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1961.
1960s: FLOS' story actually begins in 1959, three years prior to the actual establishment of the company in 1962. Arturo Eisenkeil, an importer/inventor/producer from Merano, Italy, obtained a new spray-on plastic coating material called "cocoon" and started looking for ways to utilize it commercially, including what would become the now iconic cocoon lighting. Eisenkeil found a strong ally and supporter in Dino Gavina, another investor in the company. Gavina had successfully worked on furniture designs with the brothers, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, as well as Tobia Scarpa. These designers started using this new material to create a range of lighting designs whereby the light emitted from the bulb would be ethereally diffused through the resulting "cocoon."
Left photo: Taraxacum suspension light designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1960. Right photo: Toio floor lamp designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1962.
Arco floor lamp designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1962.
Left photo: Snoopy table lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1967. Right photo: Biagio table lamp designed by Tobia Scarpa, Flos, Italy, 1968.
1970s design icon, the Lampadina table lamp literally means "lamp" or "bulb" in Italian and underscores Achille Castiglioni's in "ready made" designs. Designed in 1972.
1970s: Having moved from Merano to Brescia in the mid 1960s, the 1970s were characterized by the company's explosive growth and acclaim. Designs by the Castiglioni Brothers were included in the Museum of Modern Art's 1972 ground-breaking exhibition, Italy: The New Domestic Landscape. In 1974, FLOS acquired Arteluce - this historic Italian company had been founded by much-celebrated lighting designer Gino Sarfatti. With this acquisition, a plethora of additional designs were added to the FLOS catalogue. In 1979, FLOS wins its first prestigious Compasso d'Oro Award for its Parentesi suspension light that had been collaboratively developed by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzu at the beginning of the decade.
Frisbi suspension light designed by Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1978.
Left photo: 265 wall light designed by Paolo Rizzatto, Flos, Italy, 1973. Middle photo: Parentesi suspension light designed by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzu in 1971. Right photo: Foglio wall light designed by Tobia Scarpa, Flos, Italy, 1973.
1980s design icon, the Taraxacum '88 suspension light means "dandelion" in Latin and becomes a visual metaphor for its bulbs that resemble the florets on the head of a dandelion Designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1988.
1980s: In 1984, a major exhibition of Achille Castiglioni's designs is presented in several European cities. FLOS begins working with a young French designer named Philippe Starck whose lighting designs would challenge our preconceived notions of what lighting can look like and who would continue to design for FLOS until the present day.
Left photo: Ara table lamp designed by Philippe Starck for Flos, Italy, 1988. Right photo: Luci Fair wall light designed by Philippe Starck for Flos, Italy, 1989. Ara and Luci Fair are now both out of production and are superb examples of Philippe Starck's lighting designs in the late 1980s.
Taraxacum '88 suspension light designed by Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1988.
Left and right photos: Stylos floor lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Italy, 1984.
1990s design icon, the Glo-Ball Collection of table, floor, and suspension lights by Jasper Morrison feature a slightly flattened spherical diffuser and have been hugely popular since their introduction. Designed by Jasper Morrison in 1998.
1990s: During the 1990s, FLOS began to work with several promising young talents in international design - Australian designer Marc Newson, UK designer Jasper Morrison, and German designer Konstantin Grcic. In 1994, FLOS wins another prestigious Compasso d'Oro Award for its Drop lamp that had been developed by Marc Sadler.
Rosy Angelis floor lamp designed by Philippe Starck, Flos, Italy, 1994.
Left photo: Romeo Moon table lamp designed by Philippe Starck, Flos, Italy, 1998. Middle photo: Glo-Ball table lamp designed by Jasper Morrison, Flos, Italy, 1998. Right photo: Romeo Soft table lamp designed by Philippe Starck, Flos, Italy, 1998.
2000s design icon, Marcel Wanders' Skygarden suspension light is a hemispherical form that features a decorative plaster ceiling within. Designed by Marcel Wanders in 2007.
2000s: At the beginning of the new millennium, new technologies would inform new aesthetics. From Marcel Wanders' B.L.O. motion-activated table lamp where one would literally blow onto the bulb to turn off the lamp to electricity being conducted through a sheet of glass with the Lastra suspension light from Citterio + Low - the technology from which Philippe Starck would develop his much-celebrated Cicatrices de Luxe Collection of suspension lights. In 2001, FLOS wins another prestigious Compasso d'Oro Award for its Mayday lamp that had been designed by Konstantin Grcic in 2000.
Left photo: B.L.O. table lamp designed by Marcel Wanders for Flos, Italy, 2001. Right photo: Cicatrices de Luxe 5 suspension light floor designed by Philippe Starck for Flos, Italy, 2000. While both designs are no longer in production, each represents FLOS' technological innovation in the early 21st century to enable new aesthetics.
Zeppelin suspension light designed by Marcel Wanders, Flos, Italy, 2005.
Superarchimoon floor lamp designed by Philippe Starck, Flos, Italy, 2004.
Left photo: Ray floor lamp designed by Rodolfo Dordoni, Flos, Italy, 2007. Middle photo: Nebula suspension light designed by Joris Laarman, Flos, Italy, 2007. Right photo: Spun Light floor lamp designed by Sebastian Wrong, Flos, Italy, 2003.
2010s design icon, the Aim suspension light allows the user to quite literally directionally "aim" light through its flexible cord and diffuser. Designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in 2013.
2010 to now: The 2010s are marked by the "age of LED." As with the halogen bulb in the 1970s, the physicality of LEDs enabled a host of new lighting designs that have no historic aesthetic precedent. From the enigmatic Ipnos floor lamp (2013) through the modular Arrangements suspension light (2018), LED has enabled a range of lighting designs that function as much as illuminated sculptures as they do lamps. FLOS wins several prestigious Compasso d'Oro Awards - (2016) OK suspension light by Konstantin Grcic; (2020) Arrangements suspension light by Michael Anastassiades; and (2022) Belt suspension light by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.
Almendra suspension light designed by Patricia Urquiola, Flos, Italy, 2022.
Ipnos floor lamp designed by Rossi & Bianchi Studio, Flos, Italy, 2013.
Left photo: Serena table lamp designed by Patricia Urquiola, Flos, Italy, 2017. Right photo: Arrangements suspension light designed by Michael Anastassiades, Flos, Italy, 2018.
FLOS at Switch Modern: Switch Modern's Atlanta showroom celebrates this Italian manufacturer with over 40 FLOS lighting designs on display throughout the showroom from the mid 20th century through the present. Here are a few photos from the showroom.
Luminator floor lamp designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1954 (reissued by Flos in 2022) has been paired with Antonio Citterio's Soft Dream sectional for Flexform, Italy. Fine art courtesy of Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta.
Rosy Angelis floor lamp designed by Philippe Starck in 1994 is paired with Moooi's Hortensia lounge chair designed by Andres Reisinger & Julia Esque in 2021. Fine art courtesy of Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta.
Chiara floor lamp designed by Mario Bellini in 1969 (reissued by Flos in 2020) has been paired with Edra's Cipria sofa designed by the Campana Brothers in 2009. Fine art courtesy of Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta.
For more information about any FLOS lighting design, please contact us at 404-605-0196 or info@switchmodern.com.
