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.
C. 2010 Gino Sarfatti Model 2129 Produced by Flos
By Gino Sarfatti, Flos
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Model 2129 pendant lamp, originally designed by Gino Sarfatti in 1969. This particular example was produced by Flos in Italy C. 2010. This pendant lamp is comprised of an a...
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage Contemporary Flos Chandelier
By Flos
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Elevate your space with the sleek sophistication of this Vintage Contemporary Flos Chandelier. Designed by the renowned Italian lighting brand Flos, this chandelier blends modern min...
Metal
2020 Spun Light T1 Table Lamp Shiny / Gloss Black by Sebastian Wrong for Flos
By Flos, Sebastian Wrong
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a Spun Light T1 table lamp with a gloss black spun metal frame and aluminum diffuser. The lamp was designed by Sebastian Wrong, produced by Flos in Italy and date...
Metal, Aluminum
Flos KTribe Suspension Light by Philippe Starck
By Philippe Starck, Flos
Located in Basildon, London
Add a touch of elegance and sophistication to your space with the KTribe Suspension Light by Flos. This stunning piece features a sleek and modern design, perfect for any contemporar...
Metal
$2,231Sale Price / set|20% Off
Lampade Abat jour Junker Afra Tobia Scarpa per Flos 1970s
By Flos, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Milano, MI
Rara Coppia Abat Jour modello Junker disegnate negli anni 70 da Afra e Tobia Scarpa per Flos. La Particolarità della Junker è il cupolotto basculante e orientabile a piacimento. Le L...
Iron
2022 Flos IC Light Suspension 1 Pendant by Michael Anastassiades in Chrome
By Michael Anastassiades, Flos
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an IC Lights S1 Suspension Lamp made with chromed steel and blown glass. The lamp was designed by Michael Anastassiades and produced by Flos in Italy. It dates to...
Steel
Dome Torchiere Floor Lamp for Flos
By Flos
Located in Los Angeles, CA
White enamel uplight floor lamp for Flos. The modern lamp features a dome shade that directs light upwards and a round chrome foot pedal on/off switch on the newly wired black lamp c...
Enamel, Chrome
2021 Tab Floor Lamp Lamp by Barber and Osgerby for Flos Aluminum White
By Flos, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is a Tab F floor lamp with a white finish. The lamp was designed by E. Barber & J. Osgerby, produced by Flos in Italy. It dates to circa 2021 and is guaranteed as au...
Aluminum
Biagio Table Light by Tobia Scarpa for FLOS
By Flos, Tobia Scarpa
Located in Vancouver, BC
Designed by Tobia Scarpa in 1968. Table lamp providing direct light. Lamp body carved seamlessly from a single block of Carrara marble. Elegant and unique, this light is a sculptu...
Carrara Marble
Italian Design Classic Biagio Lamp by Tobia Scarpa, 1960s
By Tobia Scarpa, Flos
Located in Renens, CH
The Biagio lamp is one of Tobia Scarpa’s masterpieces. It has been cut and sculpted by hand from solid Carrara marble, resulting in a seamless piece of des...
Carrara Marble
$2,458Sale Price|20% Off
Nictea chandelier by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for flos 1962
By Flos, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Torino, IT
Suspension chandelier model Nitcea designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Flos. Particular Space Age style chandelier produced in 1962. Nickel-plated brass frame and diffuser and pr...
Brass
2021 Extra T Table Lamp by Michael Anastassiades for Flos in Graphite
By Flos, Michael Anastassiades
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an Extra T table lamp with a graphite finish. The lamp was designed by Michael Anastassiades, produced by Flos in Italy. This lamp dates to circa 2021 and is guar...
Aluminum
2021 Extra T Table Lamp by Michael Anastassiades for Flos in Bronze
By Flos, Michael Anastassiades
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Listed for sale is an Extra T table lamp with a bronze finish. The lamp was designed by Michael Anastassiades, produced by Flos in Italy. This lamp dates to circa 2021 and is guaran...
Aluminum
Italian mid-century modern Glass Chandelier Bilobo by Tobia Scarpa Flos, 1960s
By Flos, Tobia Scarpa
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian mid-century modern Glass Chandelier Bilobo by Tobia Scarpa for Flos, 1960s Chandelier mod. Bilobo with rounded diffuser in Murano bollicine glass. The structure that supports...
Aluminum
Flos Oblique 2700K Floor Lamp in Brown with USB-C by Vincent Van Duysen
By Vincent Van Duysen, Flos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Flos Oblique 2700K Floor Lamp in Brown with USB-C by Vincent Van Duysen Floor lamp that, thanks to its innovative patented lens, offers asymmetrical light distribution and excelle...
Aluminum
Flos In Vitro Bollard 1 3000K LED Floor Lamp in Terracotta by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An elegant outdoor lighting collection designed by Philippe Starck, In Vitro (translate to inside glass) modernizes the classic lantern into a contemporary structure. The collection ...
Aluminum
Flos In Vitro Bollard 1 2700K LED Floor Lamp in Black by Philippe Starck
By Flos, Philippe Starck
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An elegant outdoor lighting collection designed by Philippe Starck, In Vitro (translate to inside glass) modernizes the classic lantern into a contemporary structure. The collection ...
Aluminum