For Federico Stefanovich, mimicking nature literally in design misses the point: there’s much more to gain from this vital source of inspiration than just surface level floral patterns or leaf motifs. The Mexican talent – a 2025 Wallpaper* Ascending Star – goes deeper and finds clever ways to evoke the anatomical structures intrinsic to plant and animal life.
Presented by Mexico City’s Ago Projects gallery, Stefanovich's latest collection, Salina, stems from close observations of aquatic organisms – the vast morphology of shells and carapaces beneath the ocean’s surface. Stefanovich has interpreted the essential osseous qualities of these natural elements in the formation of collectible lamp and table designs.
‘Rather than reproduce these references literally, the collection reinterprets them through an abstract lens, seeking to capture the delicate balance between fragility and strength – the rigidity and organic fluidity that characterizes many forms of marine life,’ Stefanovich says. ‘Rather than looking primarily at existing design references or typologies, I tend to begin with structures, behaviours and relationships.’
For Stefanovich, sand-cast bronze is the best process and material to authentically capture the skeleton shapes that keep shells together. 'This process allows me to create intricate yet robust forms – limbs and branches – that can remain hollow and accommodate electrical components when necessary,' he adds.
On top of his interest in natural systems, the designer is also fascinated by the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary technologies. ‘Much of my work involves moving between handmade processes and digital tools, each informs the other,’ says Stefanovich. ‘Discovering new materials and exploring their possibilities is an important part of the process, as is finding ways to celebrate the traces of making rather than conceal them’.
Fibreglass was chosen for the lampshades because of the material's balance of precision and unpredictability; air bubble imperfections resemble the irregularities one might find on a shell’s surface. Shaped in 3D-printed moulds, the semi-translucent material is ideal for diffusing light. When illuminated, the complex-curve forms reveal all of their textural variations. ‘One material feels skeletal and dense, while the other appears lighter, translucent and almost organic,’ he says. ‘Together they create a tension that becomes central to the collection.'
That’s especially true in the table designs in which Stefanovich attempted to push the limits of asymmetry. 'I’m deeply interested in the engineering dimension of design. Balance, structural logic, assembly and weight distribution are often as important to me as the visual outcome,' he explains.
Stefanovich's solutions are both functional and expressive, allowing the way an object supports itself or comes together to become its identity – just as Mother Nature would have intended.