Movitra's moving glasses: interview with the founders'

Movitra

History teaches: the Newton apple that never falls far from a tree, the eureka of Archimedes. The interesting discoveries – sometimes revolutionary – are often realized by chance, following an event, perhaps trivial. The same happened for the team consisting of Filippo Pagliacci, Giuseppe Pizzuto and Diego Ponzetto, three friends and co-founders of Movitra, a made in Italy brand of unique eyewear, as they revolve around themselves, thus avoiding to ruin themselves. How this complex mechanism takes place and, above all, where it comes from, Giuseppe explains it in this interview.

At White you told me that Movitra was born all from a pair of glasses that was ruined after a fall: how did you conceive your models, which prevent their wear?

Yes, everything was born of a friend of Filippo at sea, trying to pick up her son, the glasses flew on the ground and, as often happens, they fell on the side of the lenses, which are irremediably scratched. From there we thought: “It would take a simple and practical system to protect the lenses”. But it was essential to think of something that is done with two simple gestures, just like when you close a normal pair of glasses. From there we started to think about how to do, and was born Movitra with its patents.

Movitra

Certainly the three hundred and sixty degree movement is innovative, but it is very particular to see: what are the reactions of people when they first meet in your glasses?

The first reaction is certainly of curiosity and amazement. It takes a bit before the brain assimilates something so new and understand that the glasses is not broken, but has a different way to close. You have to think that people are used to seeing that object always close in a certain way. Once this is assimilated, the reaction is usually “What a cool one!”. But even after this reaction, most people do not understand the usefulness of lens protection. They simply like the different closure and the fact that the glasses rotate on itself. Once the utility is explained, the exclamation in most cases is “Genius”.

You are on the market since 2016, what kind of customers do you have?

We move on two different distribution channels, optics and fashion. As far as the optics are concerned, our customers are research resellers and, in general, stores that focus on innovative and niche products. For the fashion sphere we are only in selected department stores and boutiques in very renowned and strategic locations. We are very attentive to the selection of our dealers. Distribution is a crucial point for us.

Your products are entirely made in Italy. Why this choice?

We believe that in addition to made in Italy, our pluses on which we strongly aim are innovation, quality and Italianness. Innovation because we are a highly innovative reality. We have created something that did not exist before and we have carved out a niche in a highly competitive and saturated market. Quality because we focus on using only the highest quality materials and on Italian craftsmanship and craftsmanship. So just Italian. In the quality of manufacture and design. In the perceived market, the Italian eyewear factory is second only to Japan. We could choose to go out and produce them, but we’re not Japanese. We are Italians, deeply and proudly. It is one of our strong points and it would be madness not to exploit our origins and all the heritage. We also believe that our eyewear, specifically in terms of manufacturing, does not really have anything to envy to eyewear made in Japan. The strength of Movitra is precisely the mixture of these elements that come together in a single product: Italian innovation, quality and style.

Movitra

What is the first model you have made?

The first collection consisted of three models, two pantos and a round one. Since the first mechanism is bigger and bulky than the current ones, the thickness of the glasses was also important. But that was much appreciated. In fact, many continue to like it a lot because they say it has a lot of character. Like all the first collections it has its own criticalities dictated by the little experience of the rush to make itself known. Criticality that we then solved with the subsequent collections. But we are very tied to the first three models.

Regarding the design, do you have any icons to inspire you?And here we come back to the previous question. Being Italians of style and design icons that inspire us we have lots of them. Both from the past and from the present. We are full of contaminations that are part of our DNA. For the rest we also look outside our home, we take inspiration from what we believe to be the best things and reinterpret them in key Movitra, according to our tastes.

What are your plans for the future?

We have bombs in the drawer. Just think that what you see is only the refinement of the development of the first patent. And we have different patents, always on the same concept of lens protection. We have had enough experience to understand that things must be done with the right times.

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