More than a decade after the last photographic review of its best-known and most distinctive historical collections, Flos unveils a new visual narrative that celebrates the design culture that has always defined the brand and its extraordinarily contemporary essence

Flos is pleased to announce the production of an original creative and expressive visual story dedicated to some of the most beloved and iconic lamps by the renowned Italian design lighting brand. Simply entitled Icons, the new and exclusive narrative features 12 lamps designed by great masters of design, from the brand’s origins to more recent years, pieces that have been defined as icons by virtue of the status they have assumed in the collective imagination.

Flos Icons: a visual story expressing the timeless contemporary style of Flos’ designs. In keeping with the careful communication strategy implemented throughout its history, Flos has collaborated with outstanding professionals to create Icons. Conceived and coordinated by Flos Chief Creative Officer Barbara Corti, with art direction and graphic design by Omar Sosa of Apartamento Studios, the narrative comes to life in a series of stunning shots by Catalan visual artist Daniel Riera, which portray the contemporary essence and significance embodied by these iconic Flos lamps.

“The desire to create a new visual story for our icons led us to reflect on their enduring contemporary relevance after so many years,” explains Barbara Corti. “We photographed them in Milanese architecture built between the 1930s and 1960s. They look as though they might have always been there or have just been installed. In this dance between past and future, we represent them through the gestures and proxemics of those who inhabit the space, who move within it and interact with it. Design is not worn but serves as a powerful intermediary tool between us and the space we inhabit. Icons are tools for contemplating reality.”

The lamps are portrayed as central protagonists in elegant Milanese palazzi from the 1930s to the early 1960s. The exquisite materials and unique details on the floors, stairs, walls and ceilings of the interiors are unmistakably the work of prominent Italian architects, including Renato Ferrari, Achille Luigi Ferraresi, Gio Ponti, Alberto Rosselli, and Vito and Gustavo Latis. The interaction between great Italian architecture and the industrial design of masters like Gino Sarfatti, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Tobia Scarpa, and contemporaries Jasper Morrison and Michael Anastassiades creates a harmonious play of lines and geometries, an ecstasy of beauty and elegance, which results in pure, minimal, refined images with strong communication power.

Concept and Creative Direction Apartamento Studios

Flos Creative Director Barbara Corti

Photography Daniel Riera