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DRESS
DRESS 1996
Defne Koz
“My purpose, states Defne Koz, is to
create everyday objects that can
communicate emotion, that can continue
to astound. This is why my design
language follows no single style or
fashion trend. It lasts over time, is
simple but not banal, and is innovative
in its choice of materials and formal
typologies.” Dress, the table lamp
designed in 1996 and still in production
today, embodies this approach to the
design project. Koz designed a large
blown glass, the largest version is 61 cm
high and 26 cm in diameter, by lightly
squeezing the shape of a cylinder.
To keep it perfectly integral, with no
holes, a custom mechanism to fasten
the shade onto the structure was
invented. With its extremely simple
shape, Dress diffused light through its
double glass layers, white on the inside,
peach yellow or white on the outside,
featuring a double switch: three
incandescent (or energy-saving) bulbs
were positioned downwards, and one
was pointed towards the ceiling,
integrating the luminous flux with
partially reflected light. The surface was
satin-finished with an acid treatment of
the glass to prevent fingerprints, and
the shade was fastened to an almost
invisible base in stainless steel and
metal coated with white epoxydic powder
paint. The series included a smaller
table lamp and a floor lamp supported
by a thin stem. Dress was an excellent
example of the attempt to keep the
design and production tradition of blown
glass still vital, interpreting it in a soft,
simple and reassuring language.
across:
working drawing for Dress, Foscarini technical
division, 1996
