London-based start-up Wires Glasses is creating a media hype with a new collection of its stylish glasses designs. Designed by Yair Neuman, who created the eyewear brand in 2016 along with Lily Cole (model) and Kwame Ferreira (entrepreneur), the glasses combine both craft techniques and new technologies. Furthermore, the designer considered the environment in the manufacturing of the glasses. Indeed, the company aims at reducing waste and developing the product’s lifecycle so that customers do not necessarily buy another pair of glasses if they want to change their look.
His inspiration?
African wire artistry. The first collection of the brand, Wires 1.0, consisted in a set of frames handcrafted in Harare, Zimbabwe. With this new collection named Wires 2.0, the company pushes the innovation forward by integrating 3D printing technology.
In an interview with fashionunited.uk, Neuman said: “before creating the first prototype for the collection, I was obsessed with wire and the possibilities it presents. Wire, unlike a flat surface, is something I see living between a 2D and a 3D world. It can be a flat signature or silhouette but also a complex deep structure. That summer day I left for the beach it made much more sense to wear a piece of wire around my head than anything else. So, I bent down a frame and took a train to the airport.”
If the mechanical improvement has led to a simplified version of the eyewear frame, additive manufacturing has played a key role in respecting environmental issues. Indeed, the rims are manufactured using SLS technology and Nylon material. To cope with the idea of waste reduction, the frames are made when an order is placed and shipped within a 2-4-week period.
If Wire Glasses is becoming a successful business, note that they are not the first ones to manufacture using 3D printing techniques. Octobre 71 and Safilo are other brands that take advantage of 3D printing potential in the manufacturing process of their glasses.
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