The world of eyewear manufacturing hasn’t changed much over the past twenty years. After all, you might ask yourself, how do you improve upon something that seems so basic? This was the question I asked myself, naively, as I stepped into the Mykita Haus. Little did I know that the conceptual and practical frameworks behind glasses are very complex indeed. As a life-long wearer of prescription glasses, I never gave much thought to their production. Yet upon taking a tour around the four-floor production house, hidden in the depths of leafy Kreuzberg, I found that there was a lot more to discover than meets the eye. Here are the five things I learned from my tour around the Mykita Haus.
Mykita Haus, Courtesy Mykita Media
The Production Is All In-House
The benefit of having all your manufacturing in-house means complete creative control over nearly every aspect of production. Additionally, the speed of concept-to-market is increased, wages stay in the city, and costs of imports remain down. This is good for the company and good for Berlin, making it as sustainable as it is sensible.
Mykita Haus. Courtesy of Mykita Media.
Mykita Have Their Own Patents
The signature of a pair of Mykita Glasses is the spiral hinge design, creating a seamless bond between the temple and the frame. This flexibility reduces the likelihood of breakage, thus meaning the owner of a Mykita pair won’t spend hours looking for that infinitesimally tiny screw. The accuracy of this temple is to a tenth of a millimetre. Additionally, they have patented their own type of polymer named Mylon (Mykita + Nylon), which is 40% lighter than acetate. This type of material is also used in Formula 1.
Mykita Haus. Courtesy of Mykita Media
The Temple Uses 11 Different Presses
Once the basic frame is cut out of a large sheet of Swedish stainless steel, sanded to become strong and flexible, and the nose pads are added with special pliers, the time comes to add the temples. In an optimisation process that took an entire year to figure out, the straight line goes through 11 different presses in order to achieve its unique bend. This finished temple is framed against a mockup on a projection to make sure that the dimensions are exactly right. This entire process is handmade.
Mykita Haus. Courtesy of Mykita Media.
Soon The Glasses Will Be Fitted Like Suits
By September 2017 Mykita Haus will launch MVO (My Very Own Mykita) which will be used to make glasses to exactly suit your face. No more picking a random pair off the wall; the future consists of experts making you a frame that is completely unique to you.
From the Mykita Studio Line. Courtesy of Mykita Media
Mykita Haus Are Conquering Both The Fashion And Retail World
Mykita’s deep commitment to innovative design is matched by their brand aesthetic, one always working to inform the other. The key symbol of this blend of form and function can be represented by the airport trollies they use to store their glasses in their 80 stores. With a combination of capsule collections as well as more common frames, they have the capabilities to both premier their glasses on the catwalk — with upcoming shows in Paris and Milan — as well as cater to elderly buyers and children.
For more info visit mykita.com