Get switched on to the brightest lighting trends for 2019
Lighting not only shifts to fall in line with the major new directions for homeware, it also updates according to advances in technology and materials.
As an industry leader, Adam Hoets, Creative Director of chandelier and art lighting company willowlamp, keeps abreast of the constantly changing face of lighting around the world. Here he shares his insights into a few of the functions and features that will impact the global face of lighting from now into 2020.
Willowlamp is one of the first local lighting brands to have participated in the illustrious biannual Euroluce fair – the world’s preeminent platform for lighting designers to exhibit their work – as part of Milan Design Week. Hoets spent some time surveying the show and noted a few consistent threads running through the event.
“While there’s always room for variety and uniqueness, you do see certain themes coming up repeatedly,” he says. Here are some of the standout concepts designers explored through lighting this year.
Au naturel
A pervading theme was the influence of nature on the designs. From fanciful flowers to more obscure references, the natural world serves as inspiration. Nemo launched a powerful LED task light called Bird, which balances on the edge of a surface. “It is for small desks where you don’t want big bases taking up room,” explains Federico Palazzari, CEO of Nemo. The Madre lamp for Foscarini also captured this whimsical ode to nature with its charming blossom vase concept.
Less is more
On the flipside, forms have simultaneously become strikingly simple, distilled down to the barest essentials. LED comes into play here, its easy application allowing for more versatile and out-of-the-box designs. Brands like Artemide showed just how pared back you can go with its La Linea light, while the Wireline by Formafantasma for Flos is an elegant curvilinear solution, using a combination of hard and soft elements. “The lamp plays on the contrast between the industrial feeling of the rubber and the sophistication of glass,” says Andrea Trimarchi of Formafantasma.
Past glass
There is a big return to handblown and crafted glass designs – whether nostalgic and retro (think Midcentury-inspired spheres) or highly decorative. The Marcel Wanders Adonis collection for Barovier & Toso is everything about this move back to craft and a celebration of the ornate rolled into one. Inspired by the Dutch floral tradition, with these forms channeled through Murano glass making, the collection shows a modern interpretation of a traditional technique.
To view the willowlamp collections, visit willowlamp.com
For more information on willowlamp email info@willowlamp.com
or call +27 (0)21 447 8529.
About willowlamp:
willowlamp is an award-winning South African lighting company. Founder Adam Hoets uses an original method that involves fixing ball chains to laser-cut steel frames. A tiny notch in the metal frame creates a chain curtain that is totally free from fasteners. The result is a vast range of intricate lighting designs, including lamps, pendants and chandeliers. Inspired by nature and sacred geometry, Hoets’ work includes masterpieces of both aesthetics and form. Today these works can be seen at a range of sites – including in retail, hospitality and commercial establishments.
