Flos

There are lighting manufacturers, and then there are those rare companies that fundamentally change how we think about light. Flos belongs firmly in the latter category.

Established in Italy in 1962, Flos emerged during an extraordinary period of experimentation in industrial design. Working alongside visionary designers including Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and the Scarpa family, the company challenged conventional notions of what a light fitting could be, creating objects that were as much about imagination and invention as illumination.

Few designs illustrate this philosophy better than the extraordinary Arco floor lamp. Introduced in 1962, its sweeping stainless-steel form and substantial Carrara marble base remain as relevant today as they were over sixty years ago. Alongside celebrated pieces such as Taccia and Snoopy, Arco helped establish Flos as one of the defining names in modern lighting.

What makes Flos particularly compelling is its willingness to take creative risks whilst maintaining exceptional standards of craftsmanship and engineering.

Collaborations with designers including Philippe Starck, Jasper Morrison, Patricia Urquiola and Michael Anastassiades have continually expanded its design language, producing collections that range from beautifully understated to wonderfully expressive.

There is an unmistakable confidence about Flos. Its products can be playful, architectural, sculptural or deliberately minimal, yet the underlying commitment to innovation and quality remains remarkably consistent.

At 186 Light, we regard Flos as one of the great design houses, a manufacturer whose influence extends far beyond the lighting industry. Its most accomplished pieces possess that elusive quality of feeling entirely contemporary, regardless of when they were conceived.

We admire Flos not simply for its celebrated heritage, but for its ability to continually reinterpret what lighting can contribute to an interior.

Flos demonstrates that the finest lighting does not merely illuminate a room. It can define it.