IC 10 Anniversary. Golden Hour
Photography by Daniel Riera
As Michael Anastassiades’ IC turns ten, we look back at this incredible design and its many iterations: against the backdrop of Barcelona’s Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion, the essential balancing act of the design feels as iconic and powerful as its surroundings.
To mark the first decade of this timeless icon, Flos released a special, numbered edition, the IC 10 Anniversary, in which three versions of the design are rendered in 24 carat gold. ‘Inspired by the idea of ancient ornaments that we admire as cultural testimonies, we chose a gold finish for the Special Edition as a symbol of eternity, rather than luxury,’ said Anastassiades.
In 10 years, IC has evolved as a family of lights that build on the composition’s effortless equilibrium, including floor, ceiling, wall and table, as well as outdoor. Here, in his own words, Anastassiades tells us about IC, and its universe.
To honour its first decade, the design appears in 24 carat gold, a finish chosen to symbolise eternity, as a celebratory trio of table, floor and suspension versions. The collection expands further with a new maxi IC, defined by a supersized sphere with a 45 cm diameter. Also in gold, the floor, suspension and table iterations of this giant marvel offer a surreal approach to the design’s lightness.
‘This collection explores balance. There is a series of lights: table lights, wall lights, ceiling pendants and ceiling mounted lights which take as their basic form a sphere that is perfectly balanced on the edge of a rod.’
-Michael Anastassiades
‘The initials IC come from the codes that English police use to define the perceived ethnicity of a person they stop in the street when reporting back to the station. IC1 means white person or Northern European type, IC2 means Mediterranean European/Hispanic, IC3 indicates an African/Afro-Caribbean person, and so on, so this is a playful story to define the different designs.’
- Michael Anastassiades
‘From a design perspective, I believe that familiarity is at the basis of the appreciation that IC has been enjoying. There is nothing more recognizable than a sphere and a straight line.
Since its launch, the IC Collection was perceived as an arche-type. A design that is hard to place in a specific time. A lamp that exists today but you know will be contemporary tomorrow and forever: after all spheres have always existed, brass is an ancient material, and balance is an intriguing concept.’
- Michael Anastassiades
