The Berlin-based eyewear brand Mykita gave birth to the possibility of something beautiful by pairing up with Parisian couture house Maison Martin Magiela for the launch of a fresh, exciting and retro-futuristic eyewear collection last month. We had the pleasure of asking Mykita CEO Moritz Krueger to give us a glimpse of the essence and vision behind their new collection. Brace yourselves if you can’t handle another ‘m’ word because this collection is all about modern meets 'mondain' meets metal. In short, a bold and sublime statement, offering an insight into what frames and styles we can be expecting this summer in “le monde de la mode”.
Mr Krüger, tell us a little more about the collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela.Why did you choose to work with this Parisian brand in particular?
The construction of the collaborative frames is based on the fundamental design principle of Mykita: to create technical solutions that must at the same time be aesthetic ones. Our approach is to combine precise handcraft with modern technologies. In the case of Mykita + Maison Martin Margiela we basically played with the ingredients from both parties and put them together in a new composition : in the “Essential” collection we translated historical eyeglasses forms into the contemporary context by radically reducing them to their essence, thanks to state-of-the-art technology. The deconstruction theme becomes visible in the “Dual” collection. Born of one form, deconstructed and divided into pairs.Complementary – but with four independent identities.
Maison Martin Margiela is a free thinker in the world of fashion, they play by their own rules. We adore their conceptual genius and the creative rigor and quality they apply on all creations. Mykita and Maison Martin Margiela are kindred creative minds and we are very excited about establishing a radical, new eyewear collection together that reflects the synergies of both houses.
Maison Martin Margiela is a free thinker in the world of fashion, they play by their own rules. We adore their conceptual genius and the creative rigor and quality they apply on all creations. Mykita and Maison Martin Margiela are kindred creative minds and we are very excited about establishing a radical, new eyewear collection together that reflects the synergies of both houses.
Do you reckon MMM embodies an image and a form of handicraft you couldn't find here in Berlin?
No, that wasn't it at all- our frames are all handmade in Berlin and produced in the Mykita Haus.
What were you aiming for, aethetically?
Our aim in general is to create new, exciting products. We like the future and we love technology. We define Mykita as a 'modern manufactory'. Modern manufacturing is the combination of precise craftsmanship with new innovative and modern technologies. These are the two ingredients from which we are creating our products.It is an ethos that also applies to all Mykita collections.
Do you feel like you have forged, through this collaboration, an eyewear collection that is representative of a real or perhaps an ideal, imagined epoch?
The collaboration is special because of the zeitgeist it captures. It’s historical but futuristic, state-of-the-art technology paired with a radically reduced construction, transformational and contemporary at the same time.
