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Flos

Imaginative lighting is a longtime hallmark of modern Italian design. Following in the footsteps of innovative companies such as Artemide and Arteluce, the company FLOS brought a fresh aesthetic philosophy to the Italian lighting field in the 1960s, one that would produce several of the iconic floor lamp, table lamp and pendant light designs of the era.

FLOS — Latin for “flower” — was founded in the northern town of Merano in 1962 by Cesare Cassina (of the famed Cassina furniture-making family) and Dino Gavina, a highly cultured businessman who believed that artistic ideas espoused in postwar Italy could inform commercial design. The two enlisted brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni as their first designers.

Even before FLOS was formally incorporated, the Castiglionis gave the firm one of its enduring successes with the Taraxacum pendant and associated designs made by spraying an elastic polymer on a metal armature. (George Nelson had pioneered the technique in the United States in the early 1950s.) For other designs, the brothers found inspiration in everyday objects. Suggestive of streetlights, their Arco floor lamp, with its chrome boom and ball-shaped shade sweeping out from a marble block base, has become a staple of modernist decors. Designing for FLOS since 1966, Tobia Scarpa has also been inspired by the commonplace. His folded-metal Foglio sconces resemble a shirt cuff; his carved marble Biagio table lamp looks like a jai alai basket.

In 1973, FLOS purchased Arteluce, the company founded in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti, and it continues to produce his designs. In recent decades, FLOS has contracted work from several noted designers, including Marcel Wanders and Jasper Morrison. As instantly recognizable as they are, many FLOS designs remain accessible. While FLOS lighting is the essence of modernity, its sleek, subtle designs can be used to strike a sculptural note in even traditional spaces.

Browse a broad range of FLOS lighting fixtures at 1stDibs.

Average Sold Price
$2,828
Styles
Materials
Related Creators
'Giovi' Sconces by Achille Castiglioni for Flos
By Flos, Achille Castiglioni
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Giovi' Sconces by Achille Castiglioni for Flos. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1970s. Whimsical circular sconces in an enamele...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Flos

Materials

Steel

"Light Ball" Wall / Ceiling Lamps by Castiglioni for Flos, Italy, 1960s
By Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Milan, IT
Light Ball model 2 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos. Minimal wall / ceiling lamp providing diffused light. Base in enameled spun aluminum, opal glass sphere with sc...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Flos

Materials

Metal

FLOS Snoopy Table Lamp in Orange by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
By Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The masterful Orange table lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni gets a dazzling makeover. Collectors now have a new reason to cherish the Snoopy table lamp by Achille an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Flos

Materials

Marble, Steel

Gino Sarfatti Model No. 2065 Ceiling Light for Astep
By Astep, Gino Sarfatti, Flos
Located in Glendale, CA
Gino Sarfatti model no. 2065 ceiling lamp for Astep. Designed in 1950, this is an authorized re-edition by Alessandro Sarfatti, grandson of Gino S...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Flos

Materials

Aluminum

FLOS 2097/18 Suspension Lamp in Steel and Brass, by Gino Sarfatti
By Flos, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Since 1958, this iconic Gino Sarfatti design has served as an ultra-modern representation of the traditional midcentury chandelier. Every detail of this state-of-the-art ceiling ligh...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Flos

Materials

Steel

Flos Tab LED Table Lamp in Aluminum, by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby
By Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Flos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A brand new edition of the Tab family, now with new capabilities in new colors. This new edition of Tab table lamp has an adjustable head with a ±90-degree rotation capability emitti...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Flos

Materials

Aluminum

Flos Tab 2700K LED Floor Lamp in Aluminum, by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby
By Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Flos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A brand new edition of the tab family, now with new capabilities in new colors. This new edition of Tab floor lamp has an adjustable head with a 90-degr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Flos

Materials

Aluminum

Bellhop Yellow Portable Rechargeable Wireless Desk or Table Lamp for FLOS
By Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Flos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
FLOS Bellhop T-Table Lamp in Yellow by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby Portable, rechargeable and wireless, Bellhop is a sleek modern LED tabletop lamp. Bel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Flos

Materials

Resin

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Creators Similar to Flos

More Flos Designs
Arco Lamp
Arco Lamp
Average Price
$3,358
Number Available
7
Materials
Marble, Metal, Stone, Carrara Marble, Stainless Steel, Aluminum
Styles
Mid Century Modern
It was a humble street light that inspired Achille Castiglioni (1918–2002) and his brother Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1913–68) to design their Arco lamp. The two men, along with their eldest brother, Livio, were the sons of prominent Milanese sculptor Giannino Castiglioni, and all became trained architects. Achille graduated from the acclaimed Polytechnic University of Milan in 1944 and joined Pier Giacomo and Livio in the design studio they'd opened with Luigi Caccia Dominioni. With large arc...
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Flos furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Flos furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Flos furniture, although black editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 206 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 695 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Flos were created in the modern style in europe during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Philippe Starck, Vistosi, and Patricia Urquiola. Prices for Flos furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $200 and can go as high as $17,550, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,273.
Questions About Flos
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Flos has manufacturing partners in multiple countries. For example, they acquired American developer Lukas Lighting in the 2010s to serve Flos’s North American audience. Shop a collection of vintage and contemporary Flos lighting from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Yes, the arc of the Flos Arco floor lamp is designed to allow you to adjust it with ease. Designed in 1962, this iconic style features telescoping detail built into the gracefully arched arm, making it simple to increase or decrease the height. Browse a collection of Flos Arco floor lamps on 1stDibs.

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