Mykita & Moncler: the best winter sunglasses for 2012?

Sorry for the lack of posts – have been away and then Christmas kind of took over. Trust everyone's had a cracking time and you've received all the goodies you wanted!

Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm SS2013 sunglass-visor hybrid

Visor or a sunglass? Well a bit both really, from Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm. This is Daisuké and it's made from Mykita's Mylon material. Note that the temples still fold and there's a nosepiece too. Available in gold, green and black from Mykita stores, selected opticians and concept shops. 

Get around, round, round: Mykita eyewear 2012

Mykita continues to make round glasses as inviting as they ever could be. Above you can see Teiti, Thorvald and Cecile. And at the top, two pictures from another wonderful Mykita lookbook, shot by Mark Borthwick. See the full Mykita 2012 lookbook here...

More Mykita Lite glasses - talking 'bout two generations

Firm followers of EWG will recall my love for Mykita. There are four big reasons why its glasses are some of the best:

1. Style - tonnes off great eyeshapes
2. Comfort - the glasses are extremely light and slight.
3. Ingenuity - their hinges technoligical masterpieces. Like an Audi car door, you can open and close them for pleasure
4. Durability - they stay looking great and fitting perfectly (I've had my Nils five years)

Mykita has also always made glasses for everyone: young or old, man, woman, daring or shy, cool or square.

Now, leaving Mykita for a moment, I came across this picture last summer but have been unable to reproduce it here, so click on that link you just went past.

I never heard back from the owner so I don't know if the woman pictured - "Lupa" - usually wears them. I think they look wonderful and demonstrate how stylish this style of metal aviator spectacle can look.

These glasses are fairly ubiquitous of course, mainly on the faces of middle-aged men.

Last year, the Mykita Lite series set a new standard of light eyewear design. The stainless steel frames have a newly enhanced screwless mini-hinge (see previous post where I raved about them last).

Now two new designs, Oda and Ulf, below, bring this aviator style to the more discerning glasses wearer, one who appreciates quality, ergonomics and fashion.

As Mykita explains, Oda and Ulf are "aimed at two target groups: the over-60s, who have always worn such frames; and wearers two generations below them who are now reinventing the similarly styled old glasses they were fascinated to discover in grandpa’s desk drawer [like Lupa perhaps?].

"The younger group are the driving force behind the renaissance of this design. The frames are striking but laid-back, akin to a slightly smaller version of a hip pair of sunglasses." 

Mykita makes Mylon for myopes...

...and hyperopes too. Mylon is Mykita's 3D-printed nylon eyewear that has hitherto been limited to big, sporty sunnies. Now Mylon is available in optical frames. From the top: Basky and Pelot, then Pelot on its own, Apollo, and finally Lathan. There are new colours too: British racing green, Imperial purple, and Ocean blue. Available in Mykita stockists. Previous posts on Mylon here...

Are these the best glasses of 2011? Mykita Holly and Elsa

Want specs that nod at the 1950s and 60s (which is of course v good), but don't make you look like old snaps of your grandma? Then get your peepers round Holly and Elsa from EWG favourite Mykita.

Amazingly, Mykita has been going for less than seven years' but it has already established itself as one of most innovative manufacturers - and one of the coolest designers - in the world.

Above is Holly in gold and light blue, an addition to the No.1 collection, while below is Elsa, from Mykita No. 2. If you like the look, go and find a pair and fold those hinges. For a rave on Mykita hinges looky here...

Available from any optician with taste.

Mykita Lite glasses collection - majestic minimalism

So you have potentially the best hinge in the world - how do you make it better? You make it teeny-weeny.

Mykita has launched its No.1 Lite collection, which moves its original No. 1 hinge on a bit. It's smaller, simplified, comprises three pieces and - as before - no screws.

(Why are no screws good? Because you don't have to invest in a tiny screwdriver to tighten them up when the temples flop.)

The new thinner temple has a silicone tip which can be bent into shape around the ear.

As a Mykita wearer, I've always loved the shapes, but am particularly impressed by how much they manage to introduce shape and style to very minimalist designs.

Have a better look here with Mykita's 360-degree viewer.

Oh and here's me in my Mykita Nils frame with Arthur (Master Eye Wear Glasses Junior the Younger - both of us having a bad hair week).

Forget make-up, just wear a pair of glasses: Mykita & Bernhard Willhelm's Violetta

Bernhard Willhelm and Mykita have created the Violetta using lens colouring to great effect. The frame at the front above features fine gold rims and teardrop-oval lenses, which have a subtle green glow in the upper half that turn to a rosé colour above the cheekbones.

In the second version, made of light stainless steel, the blue-to-cognac colour scheme is complemented by a matt-silver frame.

It's not the first time Mykita has had a brush with cosmetics - remember last year's nail varnish colab?

Mykita says 
the upper colour acts like a green or blue eye shadow, while the lower section emphasises the cheeks as rouge would.

Looks good to me!

The amazing Mykita Mylon 2012 collection: Nova ski sunglasses and more

While in Paris I realised I'd have to admit an error in a previous post, so this commentary on Mylon, Mykita's luxury sports line, is served with a significant side helping of humble pie.

Remember my post about 3D printing last week? While the frames from Colors of Birch are still, in my opinion, a game changer; they are not the first professional collection of 3D-printed eyewear.

My spekky heroes at Mykita have been using a 3D printing technique for glasses for three years and it launched collaborations with Bernhard Willhelm, Romain Kremer and Rad Hourani, all in Mylon last year. Whether this makes it first I know not. I even wrote about it in August 2010, but failed to realise it was the same (or a similar) manufacturing process. Mykita uses selective laser sintering – I know, I'm getting way too technical – and has now perfected and patented the way it dyes the frame to ensure a robust surface that is kind to the skin.

Top to bottom we have: Nova in sunshine, a sunglass cum ski goggle; Icco in peat; and Crison in the colour pitch. I've tried these on and believe me, they are some of the most comfortable frames ever. They're available in November.

The next post will be on Colors of Birch, as I now have more exciting images of what Pekka Salokannel's been up to!

3D printed glasses evolve with My Very Own Mykita

If you wear them, you will know that glasses come in surprisingly standard sizes. Unless you've a pinhead or a moon face, you'll probably have never really had to think about how well your specs fit.

A good optician will attempt to make sure your glasses fit properly, making sure the numbers (usually starting with 50-something) on the inside of your frame at least nominally reflect the dimensions of your head. Then they may position the nose pads, or heat the acetate temples to make them more comfortable on your head.

There are a few bespoke eyewear lines like TD Tom Davies, Indivijual, and Smith & Norbu, where the glasses are tailored to your face, but this process sometimes can take weeks before your glasses are finished.

German glasses innovator Mykita has now entered the fold with its MVO line – My Very Own, its digitally tailored frames.

MVO integrates three digital technologies: 3D scanning, parametric design (a process based on algorithms in which a frame design is adapted depending on fitting data) and 3D printing, as used in Mykita's Mylon range. These combine to create glasses where design and fit are specific to the topography of each face.

The customer begins by selecting an eyewear shape from the MVO collection featuring exclusive sunglass and prescription frames.The face is scanned and the frame is digitally adjusted to the facial contours. The colour of the frame, lenses and hinges are then selected for a truly individual pair of glasses.

In collaboration with 3D scanning specialists Volumental, the Mykita fitting process also integrates the wearer’s lens centres to create a frame perfectly tailored to the face with lenses precisely positioned in front of each eye.

All the fitting data is then sent to Mykita HQ in Berlin, where the unique glasses are handmade and then dispatched to the customer.

My Very Own will be introduced to Mykita shops and selected opticians in spring 2016.

Lady Gaga in Jane sunglasses from Mykita and Marios Schwab

Lady Gaga continues to dine out without a cleaning cloth. This is the second time I've featured a picture of her with smeary lenses.

But let that not detract from the noble diva's fine taste in eyewear. The shades are by EWG favourite Mykita in collaboration with London-based designer Marios Schwab. Gaga wears Jane sunglasses while Hamilton, the other frame of the colab is pictured left.

Coincidentally, we publish this picture of Lady Gaga in John Lennon-style shades as Yoko Ono shared her belief that Lennon would have been a big fan:

"John would have loved her, because she’s an artist, she’s fearless and she pushes every limit, which we both always adored," she told the Daily Mail..

Mykita has stockists worldwide.

Lady Gaga photo: wenn.com

All made up in Mykita and Uslu Airlines limited edition Jet Set aviators

This Jet Set collaboration between German glasses geniuses Mykita and Berlin-based luxury cosmetics brand Uslu Airlines means you can have sunglasses – "BOB"or "EVE" – with perfectly matching nail polish. Colour-co-ordination to the max! Available in a few hand-selected Mykita stockists before Christmas in neon yellow, grey-brown and lilac.

Limited edition Mykita Franz for Japan

Mykita has only 89 (last count) of these amazing limited edition Franz sunglasses, created in collaboration with Bernhard Willhelm, remaining, which it is selling in aid of the Japanese Red Cross earthquake appeal. All proceeds except taxes go to the cause... available now, but not for long, at Mykita...

Lady Gaga in Edeneyes sunglasses by Herr Von Eden and Mykita

Amazingly, I haven't posted once about Lady Gaga, despite her obvious eyewear-wearing prowess.

Here she's wearing sunglasses by Mykita in collaboration with Herr Von Eden.

The model is Edeneyes and it's available in four colours in limited runs of 80 pieces. These beauties use Mykita's incredibly No. 2 hinge, reason enough to grab a pair quick, that's before we even get on to the terrific, timeless design.

Mykita x Alexandre Herchcovitch sunglasses for SS 2012

Okay, gonna turn up the frequency now. Back from Paris, finished my video fun, and I now have tonnes of exciting new frames and shades to share with y'all. First up is Brazilian fashion designer Alexandre Herchcovitch's collaboration with Mykita. Top Regina and left to right are Golda, Regina and Golda again in rose, vanilla and stone.

Mykita's Johann panto glasses - a 1930s frame, 80 years on

This terrific off-white frame from Mykita is reminiscent of the 1930s but with that clever hinge and ultra-thin stainless steel it is brought bang up to date. Part of Mykita's Decades collection, it is also available in chocolate and black.

Natural photography brings Mykita 2010 to light

Mark Borthwick has again photographed Mykita's latest wonder-specs for its 2010 lookbook and again, it all looks great. More pictures follow...

Sarah Jessica Parker wears Mykita & Bernhard Willhelm sunglasses in Sex and the City 2 movie

Yes, perhaps the hottest pair of sunglasses for 2010 (as featured here in an early Mykita eyewear sunglasses post) could well be the Flash aviators by Mykita and Bernard Willhelm.

This could have happened anyway but, now SJP is wearing them in one of the early scenes to be shot of the Sex and the City movie sequel, it's looking a bit of a certainty...

Sunglasses go bi for Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm

Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm continue to deliver the goods, this time in the shape of Rosi, available in bi-color (top). Also available in straight orange, white, matt black, blue, gold or silver, with mirrored lenses in the same colour.

Limited-edition Beth frames from Mykita, by Beth Ditto

Mykita has teamed up with Beth Ditto to produce this exquisite limited-edition frame, "Beth". It comes in purple and white versions with violet gradient lenses. There are 100 frames in purple, and the white one, ditto.