Chiara by Mario Bellini, 2020 Re-edition by Flos.

Chiara Floor & Table Lamps by Mario Bellini for Flos. Photo by Federico Torra.

Mario Bellini with Chiara in 1969. Photo by Giuseppe Pino.

Mario Bellini with Chiara in 2020. Photo by Alessandro Furchino Capria.

Designed by Mario Bellini for Flos in 1969, Chiara lamp is an iconic design object formed from a simple sheet of polished stainless steel cut and rolled into a cylinder. This self-supporting, origami-like structure hides a now updated LED light source. The light is reflected and diffused by a large ‘hat’ resembling a nun’s wimple and veil.

Chiara is a supple construction, simply rolled up on itself. Bellini started designing it in 1968, using paper models. The light it provides is dynamic because it originates in the base, hits the upper screen, which reflects it, and then diffuses out into the surrounding area. Even when switched off, Chiara’s strong and charismatic identity makes a striking impression.

“When evening comes, you have to switch on the light. I don’t like lamps in which you can see the bulbs because they bother the eyes. So I have always designed lamps the way I like them. First thinking of how to do the right thing when darkness falls and then what shape to give this light. This led me to design a lamp shaped like a nun with light shining out of her white hat,” says Mario Bellini in Il design spiegato ai bambini [Design Explained to Children], Bompiani, 2018.

The 2020 re-edition of Chiara uses cutting-edge technology and comprises two models: the classic floor lamp in stainless steel, and a new smaller table model in a variety of finishes – aluminium, dark grey and pink gold.

Related: Coordinates by Michael Anastassiades for Flos.

Chiara Table Lamp in pink gold. Photo by Alessandro Furchino Capria.

Chiara Floor Lamp in stainless steel. Photo by Alessandro Furchino Capria.

Origial Flos catalogue from 1969. Photo by Alessandro Furchino Capria.

Mario Bellini with Chiara, 2020. Photo by Alessandro Furchino Capria.

[Images courtesy of Flos. Photography by Giuseppe Pino, Luciano Svegliado, Federico Torra and Alessandro Furchino Capria.]