Formafantasma Rethinks Design from the Ground Up

In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary design, Formafantasma challenges conventions with a research-driven approach. Founded by the Italian designers Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin in 2009, the studio has presented an array of eye-catching designs that blur the lines between industrial design and collectible art, prompting a reevaluation of material culture and sustainability. At Design Miami last December, Formafantasma revealed a new modular lighting collection with Flos named “SuperWire,” which appeared at Milan Design Week, too. Glowing hexagonal glass lamps, sconces, and chandeliers with warm, wire-like LED strips informed the collection, and each design was made to be intuitively repairable by its owner, including a small Allen key. For it, Formafantasma garnered acclaim for its ability to reference lighting design history—primarily work by Achille Castiglioni—and offer a modern, attractive, and sustainable line.

This summer, Formafantasma presents a solo exhibition, “Formation,” at Friedman Benda in New York. The show will delve into design archetypes, featuring works like the Robo Lamp—a Z-shaped ash wood light that reimagines office lighting forms. This presentation marks the design duo’s first solo show in the United States, and its first one represented by a gallery. In celebration of the occasion,

Whitewall spoke with Farresin about the show, how Formafantasma continues to focus on ecology, and what the studio is working on next. 

Design That Takes Its Time

WHITEWALL: “Formation” took you almost two years to create. What would you say is its primary focus?

SIMONE FARRESIN: This is an exercise in restraint. We did not want to tap into this idea that gallery works must be hyper-expressive and become almost a parody of what an independent worker can be. Thanks also to a conversation we had with the gallery, we decided to do a body of work that was all about archetypes and with a part from a plank of wood—as a basic archetype of cabinetmaking, but also simply of constructing things in wood—and we paired it with other forms of archetypes. We started thinking, because the collection has several lighting pieces, what a contemporary archetype in lighting could be nowadays. We thought about the LED panel, which is very present in offices. We freed it from the inclusions on the ceiling, which is often how LED panels are, and we used it as an expressive tool. We really like to work with panel lighting, because to think about archetypes in a contemporary time, a lot of the light that really shines in our life comes from panels of lights—like laptops. In terms of finishing, we also reference to a more high-tech finishing in aluminum, which is paired with wood. 

We have also been thinking about underrepresented archetypes in the home and domesticity, so there is a use of textile, which is often connected to women’s work. There are a few pieces with the presence of textile, which was important to complete the narrative. Overall, I think the work is quite pared back in terms of use of materials. It is also an homage to some of the others we have loved in American design, like Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nakashima, and the Shakers in the altitude. 

“It is also an homage to some of the others we have loved in American design.”

–Simone Farresin

WW: You’ve continued to explore design with LED lights, but with your “SuperWire” collection, you created a suite of fully repairable lights. How? Why?

SF: What I think is interesting in lighting design over the last 15 or 20 years is the arrival of LEDs. LEDs changed the way you can design lamps. We wanted to not only use the expressive potentials of LEDs, but to make sure that the light was also repairable. LED bulbs take an old-fashioned bulb and have filaments inside, generally very tiny. When we saw that technology, we thought, “Let’s go big. Let’s see how much we can stretch that technology.” We managed, with Flos, to engineer these very long filaments, and to completely change the way a light is constructed with LEDs. As a consumer, if one of these lines breaks, you can take off the glass and substitute it yourself—which is typically not the case with many other lighting designs that aren’t repairable. 

This is also a really good way of proving how flexible the technology is; to create something that, of course, can be used in a house, but also can be used for hotels, restaurants, and so on. 

WW: A lot of Formafantasma’s work is about ecology, looking at the complexity of recycling and responsibly producing new pieces. Where did this begin?

SF: Many years ago, we carried out an independent research project in several museums in Italy and Australia, and at MoMA, too. The main idea was to look at the complexity of recycling electronic products like phones and computers. Many people don’t know that electronic products or electronic waste includes anything that has an electric cable. There are many difficulties in repairing and recycling these products. Out of that knowledge, we wanted with Flos to create a product that went in another direction. Through the research, design, engineering, and development of the product, it took four years to get there.

Global Voice in Contemporary Design

WW: “Formation” is your first gallery exhibition in the U.S.—and a new chapter, establishing a relationship with a gallery. How does that feel now, over 15 years since you co-founded your brand?

SF: We have solo shows quite regularly—we have one now at the Saddlelick Museum—and it’s not that, because it’s a show in the U.S., it feels particularly relevant, but rather that we are establishing a new collaboration with a gallery in the U.S. We are very happy to be doing that with Friedman Benda, which over the years has displayed a variety of different approaches to design, and has also shown both peers and those we deeply admire—like the works of [Ettore] Sottsass and Andrea Branzi. For us, it is interesting to be doing a show now with Friedman Benda. It allowed us, after 15 years, to really do what we want without the fear of not saying enough. The work is very restrained, and this shows a lot of confidence; not trying to overdo, to stick to what we think is relevant in this moment. In this sense, the show feels pertinent to what we wanted to address in this moment in time, and in relation to the latest work we have been doing. What we like about this, after 15 years, is that we feel confident in what we have to say and we are happy with it.

“The show feels pertinent to what we wanted to address in this moment in time, and in relation to the latest work we have been doing.”

—Simone Farresin

WW: You’ve cultivated an array of international clients, including Lexus, Flos, Prada, Max Mara, Hermès, Cassina, the Venice Bienniale, Bulgari, Samsung, Fendi, Fondation Cartier, Loro Piana, Jil Sander, Tiffany & Co., Vitra Design Museum, Salone del Mobile, and more. How do you balance Formafantasma’s ethos with the unique design language of your clients?  

SF: I don’t think it is about the design language of the other. When we work for clients, very often what they want is our own design language. It’s not really an issue to have to balance what we do with other people’s languages. The name of our studio is “Formafantasma,” which means “ghost shape,” so I don’t think our work is led by formal language, but by ideas. This allows us to reflect and develop our work in context. This leads to developing different works for different clients. We don’t really like the idea that we are splattering our language across all the different collaborations we have, but rather we develop with our clients custom projects that feel right for them—and for us. 

For example, for Prada, we are now developing products. We’ve been curating a symposium for over four years, and we sometimes are involved in more behind-the-scenes work for them—more our knowledge that is the service rather than our skills as formal designers. There are a lot of skills that are needed in design, like Prada Frames for Salone del Mobile. It’s not necessarily based on aesthetics. 

WW: What else are you working on this year?

SF: In the coming months, we will do a lot of exhibition design. We have one for a Mike Kelley solo exhibition, opening soon at Moderna Museete. Then, we are having a solo show at the Olivetti store, designed by Carlo Scarpa, in Piazza San Marco in Venice during the Architectural Bienniale. We also are designing the show of “The Shakers: A World in the Making” at Vitra Design Museum, which will also travel in the U.S. In addition, we’re designing Fondation Cartier’s first major show in their new building on Rue de Rivoli in front of the Louvre Museum, and we’re creating a publication for children about ecology.