Glamtiques: Chiara Floor Lamp

Acclaimed architect and designer Mario Bellini was born in Milan in 1935. In 1959, he earned his degree in architecture from the prestigious Polytecnico di Milano and enjoyed early prominence and success in his career. He founded his own design studio, Studio Bellini, in 1963. At this time, he also became chief design consultant for Olivetti, a role he kept for another 30 years. His extensive body of work encompasses writings, furniture design, lighting and architecture honored with an impressive eight Compasso d' Oro awards.

Bellini wanted to create a lamp that would use light the way it often occurs in nature - not directly, but reflecting off of other surfaces or filtering through clouds. He took a large piece of cardboard and cut out a tall cylinder with a wide hat shape on the top that, when joined together, would reflect the light source at the base. The rest is history.

Topped with a gently curving hood that serves as a diffuser, Bellini's original Chiara floor lamp consists of a large single sheet of stainless steel wrapped into an elegant column, with a gently curved hood at the top to diffuse the light. The lamp's interior is enameled in white, allowing the light source hidden inside the base to emit warm, equally distributed light. Sculptural and captivating, Chiara seems to magically conjure light when turned on.

Chiara made a splash when introduced by Flos in 1969, and a re-edition in 2020 captures the timeless modernity of this design. Chiara is now available in two versions: the classic floor lamp in stainless steel with black edges, and a smaller table lamp in a variety of finishes.