Eyestylist

The Madrid based brand, Nina Mûr conforms to a philosophy of slow-luxury, where each frame is made individually and exclusively in their studios. Founder and Creative Director Lorena Serrano Peinado agreed to share a preview of her new sunglasses and glasses designs, before the launch at Mido in Milan which takes place from Saturday (4th February) next week.

Delicacy, strength, high technology and craft. With its focus on conscious production, technological precision, and artistic design and colour, Nina Mûr continues to follow a unique path in eyewear, producing their frames from sheets of birch wood, a natural sustainable wood that is light, flexible and durable – in a host of gorgeous colours.

Launching new models in two collections next week in Milan, Lorena says her new designs focus on timeless classics, with the signature style and distinctive, delicate colour palette of the brand. “The new prescription glasses and sunglasses are based on clean and geometric shapes. Simple shapes which are easy to wear on a daily basis but carefully and beautifully designed.” She says the challenge in the current period has been to make glasses that are powerful but classic and elegant at the same time, offering real versatility and choices for everyone. She looked carefully at ways to revisit the origins of a well designed frame. Above: Lorena Serrano Peinado, photographed by Amanda Sellem exclusively for Eyestylist.com. Lorena is the creative director behind Nina Mûr.

“We have called the sun collection “Constellations”. They are silhouettes with geometric and polished lines that maintain the same thickness throughout their entire surface, in contrast to the ‘heels’ of the temples, stronger and more brutalist, which contrast with the application of extra elements and the change in colour.”

Nina Mûr will exhibit at MIDO in Milan and 100%, London. Find out more at www.ninamur.com

A renewed focus on the creation of more sustainable eyewear accessories and packaging is more evident that ever at the start of 2023. Alternative materials include recycled cork, vegan leather, wood and different varieties of recycled leather. Eyestylist investigated some of the most thoughtful design-driven alternatives proposed by eyewear brands.

A drive towards using materials that have a lower environmental impact is changing the face of accessories and packaging design produced by independent eyewear companies. At opti Munich, we’ve seen Götti Switzerland launch a new vegan eyewear case, a minimal, smart and beautifully finished product which is made at the company in Switzerland – from a high-quality vegan leather sourced in Europe. Götti Switzerland also uses Swiss-made kraft paper packaging which they have developed and introduced themselves, used as a paper case or protective sleeve, and also suitable for notepaper. Above: Götti Switzerland – vegan leather case, new Bionic frame and multi-use paper sleeve to protect the frames – www.gotti.ch

At Rolf Spectacles the wooden glasses cases, like the frames, are made in the mountains of the Tyrol in Austria. The design is minimal, natural, and has no screws or metal parts.

The case for their 3D printed Substance eyewear collection, made from beans, is a sturdy, natural-coloured Italian made, recycled leather case, printed with certification marks that identify that it is made from a sustainable, recyclable material. www.rolf-spectacles.com

Morel offers a biodegradable bag to protect eyewear. They have put significant work into the sustainable focus for their packaging and cases via their Engagement Plan, a detailed project through which they have pivoted all operations to be responsible, sustainable and transparent in areas such as reducing energy consumption. For their packaging they say that “MOREL has made a conscious decision to decrease the number of case designs by creating a single case for the MOREL brand. Its reduced size directly impacts our transport volume and CO2 emissions.” The protective packaging of the case and the cleaning cloth inside are both made of recycled materials. For more information on their Engagement Plan visit www.morel-france.com

Leinz contemporary eyewear Berlin´s eyewear cases and presentation displays
are made of recycled leather, with a smart design that matches the frames. The new material is created from the leather remains in glove production, created by employing a modern, certified, upcycling process; the material is both durable and light and at the same time conveys the classic look of leather. Find out more at www.leinzeyewear.com

Sea2see has worked with sustainable packaging from its inception. The cases are produced in recycled cork, while the cleaning cloth or pouch is made from recycled PET. The external box is made with recycled extract of sugar cane which is 100% compostable and everything is printed with plant-based inks. Sea2see has measured the carbon footprint of its cases and offsets this energy usage to achieve “carbon negative” status. Sea2see is one of few eyewear companies that holds B Corp certification. www.sea2see.org

EOE Eyewear from Swedish Lapand, part of a company which has done much work in the area of sustainable materials development (www.regrind.se), puts their frames in a case produced with fully traceable Swedish or European paper. The eyewear case has a minimalistic design. All printed products and textiles from EOE are ecologically produced and traceable. For details: www.eoe-eyewear.com

From what we observed at the opti trade fair in Munich, other brands are following suit, and more will make the switch in the course of 2023. They include the Spanish brand KALEOS who have launched a line of recycled foldable cork cases this month. They offer three shapes, a rectangle they say is elegant and minimal for women, a triangle shape for men, and a cylinder for kids, which converts into pencil storage. www.kaleoscollection.com

This feature was written by Eyestylist.com. All rights reserved.