Luxury Italian lighting brand Lodes is expanding its aesthetic vocabulary with the release of Axia, a contemporary reinterpretation of a chandelier in which light, form and technology find a new equilibrium, the brand says. Designed in collaboration with Vittorio Venezia and Carolina Martinelli, Axia will debut at Milan Design Week 2026.
As Lodes explains it, Axia was an idea before it became an object–one that is capable of illuminating a space through its very presence, even when switched off. Vittorio and Carolina “reinterpret the archetype of the chandelier through a contemporary sensibility, transforming it into an object in which light, form and technology find a new equilibrium,” the brand says.
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“With Axia, we wanted to engage with that tradition, asking ourselves what our voice could bring today,” the duo says. “We believe the answer lies in an essential gesture: removing the wire. When light is no longer bound to a cable but flows within the structure itself, the lamp changes its nature. This gave rise to an electrified and flexible system in which energy travels through the body like invisible sap.”
In ancient Greek, axia means “value,” but also “axis”: that which supports, unites and gives meaning. The central axis of the lamp is the conductor that houses the positive and negative poles – the element that binds material and light, ensuring circuit continuity and overall stability, the brand explains.
“Lodes has translated the project into a continuous design in which the central axis tapers to evoke balance and lightness,” Lodes says. “From here, the arms branch out like elements connecting with one another, giving life to a lighting system that elevates both form and gesture. The high, diffused light output enhances the perception of a light that embraces space with natural elegance.”
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Axia comes in a single size – approximately 80 centimeters – and in two metallic finishes that define its character: glossy bronze, which enhances the warm, decorative quality of the light, and black chrome, which emphasizes its contemporary spirit. The PVD finish is not only aesthetic but also functional: the coating process modifies the stainless steel surface itself, allowing electrical polarity to be transmitted without the use of visible cables, preserving the visual purity of the design. “The color emerges from the material – it is not applied – allowing the metal to breathe and vibrate, as if reflecting its own magnetic field,” Lodes says.
The light is intended for spacious residential environments – such as living and dining rooms, where it becomes a visual focal point in the center of the room or above a table. It’s equally at home in contract and hospitality settings, from lobbies to lounge areas, “where it inhabits spaces with a presence that is both bold and discreet, never intrusive.”
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