FLOS X BOTTEGA VENETA: SPECIAL EDITION OF GINO SARFATTI’S MODEL 600 LAMP

Images courtesy of Flos

A New Kind of Flexibility, with a Softening of Constituent Parts and Forms

Born in Venice in 1912, Gino Sarfatti is one of Italy’s most celebrated lighting designers. Throughout his career, he designed more than 600 luminaires, revolutionizing traditional typologies with an innovative and experimental approach to material, form, and new lighting technology.

In 1939, Sarfatti founded the company Arteluce, later sold to Flos in 1973. Based in Milan, Arteluce produced a prolific line in lamps, while also providing bespoke lighting design for large-scale projects including Genoa’s Palazzo Bianco and Turin’s Teatro Regio.

Presented by Som Santoso

Sarfatti’s Model 600 Table Lamp was designed in 1966 — the same year that Bottega Veneta was founded in Vicenza. Just like Bottega Veneta’s earliest bag designs, which were distinguished by their supple shapes and smooth leather, the Model 600 proposed a new kind of malleability, with a softening of constituent parts and forms. Pushing beyond the rigidity of a conventional lamp, Sarfatti designed a flexible base of lead shot pellets encased in smooth leather. This innovation allowed the lamp to sit on a table with a new kind of ease, while also enabling an adaptable light angle.

In Flos and Bottega Veneta’s reinterpretation of the Model 600, the leather base is developed in signature Bottega Veneta Intrecciato and in Intreccio Foulard editions. Reflecting the innovative craft that is at the core of both companies, the lamp is equipped with the latest LED technology while retaining the shape of the original light bulb.

Suitable for floor or table use, the new Model 600 provides precise yet soft and relaxing lighting. It can emit direct or indirect light, depending on the angle of the reflector. The lamp is available in small and large editions, and in a variety of colourways, including black, grey, red, emerald green, and signature Bottega Veneta green.