BESTLITE COLLECTION
BY ROBERT DUDLEY BEST
A BRITISH BAUHAUS LEGEND
There are few designs that manage to stay relevant for a century. However, sometimes a design comes along that changes everything. The Bestlite is one of those designs.
When Robert Dudley Best inherited Best & Lloyd, the world's largest lighting manufacturing company, he planned to modernize its collection, despite its prestigious projects for the Orient Express and the Titanic in its past. In 1930, inspired by influential modernist architects and designers such as Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and Walter Gropius, he created the Bestlite.
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ENGINEERED FOR MOVEMENT
This timeless classic from the Bauhaus era features a swan-necked stand, bell-shaped shade, and adjustable pivot joints that not only make it elegant but also highly functional. The Bestlite was the first lamp that could be truly adjusted, with the shade and the arm meeting the base, wall bracket, or stand both being adjustable. The Bestlite has the ability to be angled, tilted, and rotated, making it an extremely versatile lamp.
STANDING THE TEST OF TIME
Since its inception in 1930, Bestlite has been in continuous production and has become an iconic part of British design history. It has a Danish twist to the tale as well – the Bestlite became the first archival piece in the GUBI Collection in 1994.
TESTED BY TIME, IN HOME AFTER HOME
The Bestlite comes in nine designs and over 100 variants including desk lamps, wall lamps, pendants, and floor lamps. It has resisted contemporary trends for candy-striped or brightly colored editions, today’s Bestlite remains true to Best’s original design concept and its industrial roots.
All variants are made of steel with classic color choices including black, white, and gray, and material finishes such as bone china, chrome, and brass. The Bestlite has set the standard for the GUBI Collection and has remained an essential part of GUBI’s design DNA ever since.
ROBERT DUDLEY BEST
Robert Dudley Best was heir to the world’s largest lighting manufacturing company Best & Lloyd, founded in Birmingham in 1840. Despite the company’s proud history of providing traditional lamps to a prestigious clientele, including Titanic and the Orient Express, Dudley Best was interested in a new collection that symbolised the spirit of the new age by appealing to the more avantgarde architects and setting a new agenda for lamp design.
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