Foscarini's 'Vite' Project Places Lamps in Real Homes Across the Globe

Carlo Urbinati, president of Italian lighting company Foscarini, discusses the genesis of 'Vite', a photo-video reportage that places Foscarini lamps in real people's homes across three continents and five cities. The project, initiated in 2018 before the pandemic, was born from a fatigue with staged product photography. Photographer Gianluca Vassallo, a longtime Foscarini collaborator, shot the series in New York, Copenhagen, Naples, Venice, and Shanghai. Writer Flavio Soriga contributes prose accompanying the daily life of the homes and inhabitants. The project is set to become a book in the coming months. Urbinati emphasizes the challenge of capturing different qualities of natural light across these cities, reflecting diverse cultural relationships with light. The initiative aims for authenticity over glamour in product communication, though Urbinati stops short of declaring a trend, stating simply that Foscarini had grown tired of the polished aesthetic.