EUROLUCE LIGHTS THE WAY

For lighting designers around the world, Euroluce is nothing less than the industry’s equivalent of what the Oscars mean to established actors in Hollywood.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

For lighting designers around the world, Euroluce is nothing less than the industry’s equivalent of what the Oscars mean to established actors in Hollywood. The biennial global lighting exhibition has been organised every other year since 1976. Held during the Milan Design Week and in conjunction with the Milan Furniture Fair, Euroluce presents the latest lighting designs from the best lighting brands in the world. The fair is regarded by professionals and design lovers as the leading authority offering insights on new and upcoming lighting trends and innovation, balancing between technology and design for interior, exterior, and industrial lighting systems.

The latest edition of Euroluce, held last April, saw a split down the middle between Italian and international lighting brands among its 420 exhibitors. The design solutions, which will be available to local homeowners from 2020, were expertly presented with interactive, eco-conscious, and sustainable products.

SUSTAINABILITY IS KEY

In line with other industries, producers of lighting systems are also showing growing concern for sustainable creations, particularly in the area of energy conservation. The following 10 designer brands stood out with their sustainable lights for the home.
 
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TOM DIXON

Outside of the fair, English designer Tom Dixon (available at Xtra) opened a new restaurant and showroom near Teatro alla Scala utilising his own furniture designs, as well as Spring pendant lamps and Opal globe lights. This is his first permanent presence outside of the UK and includes both interior, exterior, as well as office spaces.
 
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DAVIDE GROPPI

Davide Groppi showed new shapes after the success of his last collection’s iconic PoPuP and Tetatet table lamps. The new Davide Groppi lamps at Euroluce 2019 included a gold chain chandelier in ChainDelier and Railway, which depicts a heart with LED strikethrough playing between art and design. The Italian designer has a healthy approach to his design in relation to being innovative.
 
“IT WASN’T EASY CHOOSING WHICH NEW LAMPS TO MAKE BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH I LIKE AND SO MUCH VARIETY IN WHAT THRILLS ME. I LET MYSELF BE GUIDED BY SENSATIONS INSIDE, LETTING GO OF WHO I WAS, FORGETTING MY STATUS AS A DESIGNER.”
– DAVIDE GROPPI
 
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LLADRÓ

This Spanish brand defines itself as a modern brand incorporating porcelain with contemporary designs in its collections of ornaments, hoemware, sculptures and lights. Marcel Wanders’s floral-inspired ceiling light, Nightbloom (above), was another new addition in the collection. Their popular Firefly lamp (extreme top) was shown in a larger model and also as a ceiling lamp.
 
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FOSCARINI

Foscarini’s (available at Space Furniture) theatrical, stage like booth at the fair was designed by Ferruccio Laviani to highlight the inspirations behind their latest styles. Andrea Anastasio’s Madre lamp and Jean-Marie Massaud’s Solar are among the newest lamp designs featured this year by Foscarini. The brand’s most recent technological development, MyLight, is an intelligent lighting system set on improving the atmosphere of your home. MyLight lamps have built-in and retrofit LED lights, which can be personalised through mobile devices to scale brightness and temperature, completing the mood of your ideal home. The Italian lighting brand has also partnered with Diesel, collaborating on a collection of 40 lamp models (below and right) with varied and distinct personalities.
 
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MELOGRANOBLU

Another established Italian lighting brand is the Bergamo based Melogranoblu, which focuses on hand-blown glass for decorative interior light solutions. Their theme for the 30th edition of Euroluce was Emotions of Light. Their Made-in-Italy collections (below) were eye-catching in form and inspired by unique sources ranging from stars in the night sky to perfume bottles, and even a dramatic night at the opera. Their classic techniques and materials, prominently clear or frosted glass and brass, have remained while the company has expanded their designs to include options for larger architectural projects in luxury homes or industrial spaces.
 
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MICHAEL ANASTASSIADES

Geometric and minimal wonders come from his namesake brand, though Michael Anastassiades also designed lights and objects presented at the Salone del Mobile for Flos, B&B Italia, among others. The Londonbased, Cyprus-born designer’s eponymous studio hosted a chic presentation of his latest light collections at Euroluce. The most technologically-minded product was Vertigo, a series of rod-like lamps, which are fabricated with a touch dimmer feature.
 
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MAYICE STUDIO

While not technically an exhibitor at Euroluce, Madrid-based Mayice studio was displayed at the ever-evolving and stylish Galleria Rossana Orlandi gallery in town. They presented a twist, or rather a turn, on their Filamento light system with Filamento Verticale (above and right), a 90-degree shift from last year’s debut. Their unique designs fit as architectural and decorative light solutions.
 
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FLOS

This edition of Euroluce hosted one of the largest stands ever seen in a shared megabooth by Design Holding, made up of Flos, B&B Italia (both available at Space Furniture), and Louis Poulsen. The Flos section showed masters and contemporary designers of interior and exterior lighting, from Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni to Gaetano Pesce, Antonio Citterio, and Mario Bellini to Piero Lissoni, Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola, nendo, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and Formafantasma. The latter’s Wireline suspension lamp design (below) blended contemporary art and industrial design. The innovative design highlighted the silhouettes of the lamps by creating shadows from its outline. The brand’s floor, and wall-mounted light solutions are also ideal for front or back yards as well as home gardens.
 
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THIS EDITION OF EUROLUCE HOSTED ONE OF THE LARGEST STANDS EVER SEEN IN A SHARED MEGABOOTH BY DESIGN HOLDING, MADE UP OF FLOS, B&B ITALIA (BOTH AVAILABLE AT SPACE FURNITURE), AND LOUIS POULSEN.
 
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My Reading Room
My Reading Room

DAVID POMPA

The designer, based in Mexico city, unveiled his new creation featuring a collection of lamps hewn from volcanic rock and opal glass. David Pompa’s new Origo lamp (left) exudes sensuality as well as sensibility through the innovative use of the materials and the functional design of the lamps.  Aside from Origo, the brand also presented the Meta collection (right and below), which consists of other earthy materials such as copper and travertino stone, and fiorito marble.
 
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BOCCI

Bocci (available at Space Furniture) kept to its signature use of hand-blown glass orbs for this edition of Euroluce. Available in different shapes and suspension systems, the new collection included an LED ceiling light system named 73V (left), and a new opaline version of the flexible suspension light system entitled 57 (far left).

TEXT GRACE DAVIN