Glassing are born in 2010 from an idea of Alessandro Forte and Stefano Ottone, two friends grown up in Milan, who decide to start a new adventure in Ibiza. Glassing start here, nearly born for fun. The fashion world beginsto take an interest in the brand and this incites even more Alessandro and Stefano to believe in this project and to go on. Alessandro Forte and Stefano Ottone, Founders, Glassing talk about the brand, upcoming designs, and inspirations.
Alessandro Forte and Stefano Ottone, Founders, Glassing
How did your story start, and why did glasses become the object of interest for you?
Alessandro: Our adventure started as a holiday when we were young and penniless. We both shared the mutual passion for vintage eyewear and partying. We travelled to Ibiza and wanted to stay on the island, but in order to do so we needed to earn money. We scraped together a little work with the money we needed just to get us started.
Stefano: It was absolutely the most fun time of our lives. We were carefree, without any responsibilities. The glasses were selling a lot and we were earning a lot of money! Then, I decided to go back to Italy and produce the classic aviator shapes, which sold even faster at the store. We didn’t keep count on how many we were selling, so without thinking too much, we have ordered 20,000 pairs. We had to sell them all, but it was taking too much of our time, so we came up with the idea of a vending machine for our glasses, which fortunately turned out well and saved us a lot of time! (Laughs)
Your brand is called Glassing – luxury eyewear handmade in Italy. What does “handmade” stand for in your design?
Alessandro: “Luxury eyewear handmade in Italy” it’s our payoff, our vision/mantra. In Italy, everything seems to be “made in Italy” but it’s not. We create, produce, sell and handcraft all our collection in Italy. Nowadays it is not taken for granted.
Do you launch new collections every season?
Stefano: Yes, we do. We try to keep our customers interested.
Do your collections continue previous ideas, or are they absolutely non-related to each other?
Alessandro: They are not related. Stefano and I evolve really quickly and we expect our collections to be able to follow our rhythm.
Why do you think Dubai is a good location for Glassing?
Stefano: I believe Dubai is the center of the world. Everyone’s watching what’s happening in Dubai, and it’s become a Centre stage for upcoming trends. When we started Glassing, we knew we needed to be in Dubai. It has very worked very well so far.
Alessandro: I agree with Stefano, Dubai is becoming the crossroads of the world. It fit like a glove for Glassing and its niche crowd.
What are you trying to achieve with your latest menswear designs?
Alessandro: We are trying to reinvent the way men see themselves. The new designs are aimed at creating a strong and impactful sense in the eyes of the bearers.
Stefano: Our new designs are luxury blueprints that highlight a return to the 90s-metal look but have the artisanship of 21st century technology.
The newer collections feature sunglasses with very slim metal – why do you like this material?
Stefano & Alessandro: We launched the Fine collection around Eid. Keeping in line with what is currently trendy, we wanted to create something with metal but at the same time it’s light and easy to wear. The slim metal we used to create the Fine collection is very elegant and flexible. It’s something one could easily wear every day- and still look debonair.
What do you think is the next trend for men’s sunglasses?
Stefano: Bigger sunglasses aren’t as popular as they once were on men. Men’s sunglasses just seem to be getting smaller and smaller.
Alessandro: And they are starting to get back some colour in them.
