Diabolo Pendant - / Achille Castiglioni, 1998 / H 95 cm by Flos Red

The Diabolo pendant is one of the iconic lamps designed by Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002), grand master of 20th-century Italian design. This was Achille Castiglioni's last project for Flos, with which he worked throughout his career. Thanks to an ingenious mechanical pulley system hidden in the upper cone of the lamp, the lower cone (containing the light source) is adjustable in height with a simple movement of the hand: you lower the lampshade and raise it again using a retractable cable. Giovanna Castiglioni, daughter of the legendary Italian designer, says: “My father was a really good Diabolo player - it was one of his favourite hobbies. ” In 1998, Achille Castiglioni drew inspiration from this hourglass object to create the Diabolo pendant light. Much like the game that inspired its name, Achille envisioned a lampshade that could move up and down via a pulley system, so that the user could adjust its height to their liking by lengthening or shortening the distance. Between the two cones. This light consists of two aluminium cones connected by a retractable cable. The movable lower cone contains the light source. The upper cone is fixed to the ceiling: it hides the pulley mechanism. The two cones can be attached to each other or separated: with a simple wave of the hand, the lower cone is lowered or raised. Giovanna Castiglioni explains: “It's a very simple design. The Diabolo pendant was originally modelled in paper, then in cardboard, before being made of aluminium. ” Some original models of the Diabolo pendant still hang in the Castiglioni workshop today. Achille Castiglioni continued to lead the way in a manner both mischievous and detached. His philosophy on the subject is based around the pleasure of discovery and invention, rather than form as finality. For Castiglioni, items had to meet two basic requirements: to provide a practical solution, if possible with a smart, functional innovation, and to satisfy the public’s tastes.