Lafayette lamp by Radar, a piece-sculpture which pays homage to design, fashion, and culture

Radar's new Lafayette lamp bears the signature of Bastien Taillard, a young French designer born into a family of hyper-creative people. A piece-sculpture in solid brass with a strong evocative power which pays homage to design, fashion, and culture.

Since the origin of Radar - the French brand he is art director and founding partner of - BastienTaillard has chosen to work on essential lines and a meticulous re-visitation of shapes combined with an in-depth research of materials. The new Lafayette lamp, which had its preview launch at the M&O fair in Paris and will be launched on the international market today, is no exception.

It is a refined lamp-sculpture and a homage to the France of the Sun King and to 19th century Paris, but also a clear reference to the operation performed on the façade of the Louis Vuitton store in Place Vendôme (signed by archistar Peter Marino).

“Lafayette is a hymn to Paris, to Milan, a symbol of two very special cities that enlighten art, fashion, design and culture”, as the designer explains. “A citation of the solar disk, or rather, a gilded vibration that accesses our homes”.

Produced in two versions, as a wall and pendant lamp, with 40 and 60 cm diameters, it is conceived as a piece of matter in evolution that offers itself up to the user's free interpretation. The spokes can in fact be opened for a more eccentric appearance or kept flat for a more minimalist look.

“I wanted to create an object that could be delivered flat and that the client could then make his own by giving it his own shape”, Bastien continues. “Something that was not fixed, but in continuous evolution”.

As always with Radar's creations, a big part of the challenge was the technical manufacturing procedure. “Lafayette is made in solid brass, starting from large brasssheetscuted with numerical control machines”. Therefore, many prototypes were produced, as well as models in paper and aluminium to obtain the perfect shape and to ensure that the spokes were flexible and solid at the same time.

“The development phase took more than a year and required the application of different know-how and expertise“, says Francesca Bertini, who is the other face (on the business side) of Radar. “But Lafayette is special and fits perfectly into our catalogue, which is composed by lighting solutions that are never shy but take a stand in spaces and interiors to imbue architectures with personality. Pieces to experience, pieces that catch the eye, whether they are lit or not”.

Source: Radar
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