What kind of world do you want to see? Wires 2.0
The history of eyewear is a history of innovation, small iterations and technological advances helping humans to see with more clarity.
Simple innovations to solve a problem.
In ancient Rome, the Emperor Nero would find himself squinting into the Colosseum, the unrelenting glare of the Mediterranean sun obstructing his vision of the gladiators in combat below. The solution? A lens of polished emerald, which he would hold to his eye to watch the entertainment. The world’s first recorded ‘sunglasses’.
Some two thousand years later, and in considerably more quotidian circumstances, designer Yair Neuman found himself with a similar problem. Setting off on holiday to Spain, he needed some sunglasses (he too needed to shield his eyes from the Mediterranean sun). His (slightly more 21st century) solution? He took a piece of soft wire to create a frame, then 3D printed some rims in his studio, and Wires glasses were born.
Simple innovations with a big impact.
In the 1930s, pilots were flying higher and further than ever before, and requested something lighter than fur-lined goggles to protect their eyes from the sun’s glare. US eyewear manufacturers developed lightweight glasses with teardrop lenses — to reflect the shape of human eye sockets — thus creating the ‘Ray-Ban’. Their iconic ‘Aviator’ design, worn by everyone from Marlon Brando to Michael Jackson, remains virtually unchanged to this day.
Different problems, bigger impact.
But the problems we face today in product design go beyond functionality, and the impacts of the mass production and consumption of certain products represent more than a ‘fashion moment’. In an era of climate change and environmental degradation, it is increasingly important to think of how the products we produce and consume impact upon our shared planet.
‘The average lifespan of a pair of glasses is 2.2 years. The majority of discarded frames, like the rest of the world’s plastic, will end up in landfill.’
Across the world, some 3 billion units of eyewear are sold annually, and the average lifespan of a pair of glasses is just 2.2 years. Our fast-fashion and disposability culture encourages us to update our style with the season, discarding old ‘looks’ with abandon and eagerly buying up the latest models.
Yet few of us ever pause to think how, or where our glasses are made.
(We’ll tell you).
Typically, frames for glasses are made from heavily laminated acetates or other plastics derived from non-renewable oil. They are cut from large sheets of material, with the ‘negative space’ left over often ending up as non-recyclable waste material. Non-biodegradable silicon is used for the pads on the nose bridge, and the short shelf life of many pairs of sunglasses, along with the vast amounts of unused stock each season, mean that many go to waste. This material will not decompose, and the majority of discarded frames — as with the rest of the world’s plastic — will end up in landfill, or in our oceans.
This is where Wires 2.0 comes in.
Positive solutions.
A concern for planetary and social wellbeing runs through the DNA of Wires 2.0. Each pair is made from a single piece of stainless steel wire that is completely recyclable at the end of life. 3D printing our rims means that hardly any waste is created; we use only what is necessary, nothing more. Eyewear industry standards dictate that 300 products should be created every season per collection; at Wires, there are only seven iconic designs, one frame. Its modular design not only streamlines the production process, generating less waste, but means you can change your look without having to buy a whole new pair of glasses.
Stripping glasses design down to its essentials forces us to consider how things are made, and what they’re made out of. Wires 2.0 aims to create a conversation about sustainability, inspiring new ways of thinking about the accessories we own.
After all, glasses help us to see the world. What kind of world do you want to see?
