'Tornado' Eyewear of the Year 2008

Tornado by name and by nature: the most innovative frames in the history of Derapage won the International Optical Fair Tokyo (IOFT) award in the technological innovation category.

On October 10 in Tokyo, the world capital for the invention and production of technology, Tornado will be crowned 'Eyewear of the year 2008'. An award that is particularly significant not only for the Asian market, but also for Turin-based Nico-design, which has won it for the third consecutive year.

Tornado is a totally Italian product in style, workmanship and assembly, a revolution in the eyewear world with a new patent. The solder-free frames are layered: three different ultra-thin steel sheets are assembled by means of an original micro-rivet system adapted to microtechnology and top-level jewelry. A highly technological solution for lightweight, indestructible glasses with a clean, aggressive design.

Nico-design CEO Giovanni Vitaloni said: 'Working with the Japanese is very satisfying. They get passionate about products: when we present the collections to customers, they appreciate the smallest stylistic and technical details and they want to understand about the workmanship'. Irene Chinaglia, head of Nico-design's style center, added: 'Receiving an award for technological innovation from a country that symbolizes innovative research and design is a double award that makes us particularly proud to carry the flag of Italian style, worldwide'.

Nico-design's Japanese partner is the Umeda family's Orient, which has been distributing Vanni and Derapage products to over 200 outlets in the Japanese market since 2005. Nico-design brands in the Far East are also distributed in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.