Italian lighting manufacturer Foscarini was founded in 1983 by Carlo Urbinati and Alessandro Vecchiato. The company has placed itself among the top in the industry with it’s beautifully designed pieces created in collaboration with grand masters and young design talents. We spoke with Urbinati about the five products in Foscarini’s catalog that he feels best depicts the company’s story.

Carlo Urbinati (l) and Alessandro Vecchiato

Lumiere

1. Lumiere, Rodolfo Dordoni, 1990
“This is a very symbolic lamp for Foscarini. Before starting the collaboration with Dordoni, my partner Alessandro Vecchiato and I had been virtually designing all of our products. This was the first time we worked with an outside designer (apart from the collaboration, in 1985, with Adam Tihany and Joseph Mancini for the collection Wassily off the Wall, inspired by the world of Kandinsky). Lumiere’s design is characterized by the unconventional combination of two materials: the artisanal blown glass of the shade combined with the technical metallic tripod. It was a huge success, and is still, after more than 20 years, in our collection. We continue to develop the concept with different sizes, occasional limited editions, and updated forms, but the concept is the same. In the history of Foscarini, Lumiere represents the symbol of an up-to-date design language brought in by independent designers who began collaborating with the company, and contributed to improving the quality of the products and strengthening the brand impact.”

Havana

2. Havana, Jozeph Forakis, 1993
“When this lamp was originally designed, we were still making lamps only out of blown glass. It was a great looking design for a lamp, but realized in glass, it would have resulted in a very heavy and expensive piece. So, we thought: why not try something new? Now the lamp, made of polyethelyne, is lighter, less expensive and easily transitions from indoors to out – thanks to different versions. It was such a good idea that MoMA selected it for their permanent collection. From that point on, when we collaborate with designers on new products we first think: Is it a good idea, an interesting concept? And then, what material would be most appropriate to express the original idea? Foscarini now works in more than 20 different materials and with over 30 designers. But really, in the end, our main ingredient is emotion.”

Mite

3. Mite & Tite, Marc Sadler, 2000
“This was our first collaboration with Marc Sadler and the start of a series of lamps using a composite material — glass fiber and carbon or Kevlar thread — that had never been applied to lighting before. In 2001, Mite won a Compasso D’Oro award. The series includes various lamp forms for different functions. These forms lent themselves to being creatively massed together into large scale, site specific light sculptures. This launched us into a custom program called Fiber Evolution for designers and architects to use our lamps—or parts of them–en masse to very dramatic effect.”

Caboche

4. Caboche, Patricia Urquiola, 2005
Here we have a wonderful example of our collaborative process in material exploration. Patricia Urquiola had this great idea to make a lamp out of a bracelet she loved. At first we all assumed that the lamp should be made of glass crystal. But, in order to support the glass balls, which were heavy, the inner frame had to be made of metal which interfered with the light reflection we were seeking. It then dawned on us that, of course, the balls should be plastic! So we developed this special mold and hanging system so that all you have to do is snap the balls onto a clear plastic frame. It was a great idea made even better by figuring out the right way to make it. Caboche continues to be one of our best sellers.

Twiggy

5. Twiggy, Marc Sadler, 2007
If there is one lamp that has become a signature piece for Foscarini, it is Marc Sadler’s Twiggy. Maybe because of its large scale, yet minimal material use, maybe because it is simple yet graphic quality, but Twiggy has become a real star in the market of floor supported arching lamp. Marc’s concept was simple: hang a shade off of a fishing rod. Although it maybe simple, it was not easy. To realize this concept was an extremely complex process and involved a lot of material exploration to find a “rod” that would both bend and support a lamp head. In Twiggy there is no visible technology. The lamp is completely supported and shaped by gravity. The more weights you add to the top of the shade, the lower the head goes down. It is a very clever design—and it also won a Special Mention for the Compasso D’oro.

by Jean Lin