Foscarini’s Nuée suspension lamp doesn’t resemble a light fixture so much as a transcendent powder puff, a luminous numinous cloud, a fairy tale marshmallow or mushroom from a land that transforms even the earthiest of objects into an ineffable and un-graspable shade of white.

Designed by the always versatile Marc Sadler, Nuée shows its transcendence in the way it bears up to elaborate comparison. Close scrutiny would seem to always end up in a perplexed kind of musing: “What exactly is that.”

Foscarini likes to remind us of its sculptural quality, and of the importance of its aspect when un-illuminated: “Creating light fixtures that are just as impactful off as they are on has been at the core of Foscarini’s design ethos since the beginning – highly functional yet aesthetically pleasing as stand-alone objects.”

With its billowing, befuddling fabric shade, Nuée certainly stands alone. And, yes, its tactile and visual appeal is every bit as potent when it’s off.

The white PBC material that constitutes the diffuser is a flexible, form-able fabric that welcomes subtle manipulations from users, changing its shape and consequently changing the way it projects light: “overlapping layers of a three-dimensional fabric can be modeled to create areas of chiaroscuro, which light shines through in a suggestive manner.”

Yes, the uses of Nuée are certainly open to suggestion. Whether you see it as a low-slung moon come down to invade and enchant, or a billowing, cotton-candy like cloud, Nuée is certain to liven up your environs.

Read more about Nuée and designer Sadler at Foscarini.