To celebrate its 80-year history, the Italian eyewear company chose Marc to design a capsule collection, ‘Safilo by Marc Newson.’ The designs stemmed from revisiting a historical model personally chosen by Marc, which led to the creation of five optical frames and two pairs of sunglasses, based on this original shape from the Safilo’s archive.

The design used five specific materials and technologies, including the use of ultra-lightweight Optyl (an exclusive Safilo patent), the thin steel wire of the historical UFO collection combined with the use of aluminium; and, lastly, steel integrated with the new revolutionary Elasta 80 hinge.

“It was a privilege to collaborate with the most respected eyewear manufacturer in the world; to honour the ethos of Safilo and reflect it in my design. It is always important for me to understand and explore the heritage of the company I am working with. Equally, I like to exploit new technologies and materials in the design process and inject some of my own DNA into it.”