MIDO is back, in person and in complete safety, at the Fiera Milano Rho venue from 12 to 14 February 2022. The event is set to be a must-do for the whole sector, both in terms of its role as a privileged observatory and as an international point of reference in the worlds of design, fashion, culture and business. MIDO is also a hub that reflects an entire industry, for reflection and rethinking about eyewear in all its aspects and details, a showcase for final users. As the next important edition approaches, we have interviewed some of the key players.
Today we give the floor to Antonio Guitart, owner of Estiara.
Careful attention to materials is part of your brand’s DNA: can you tell us your story?
Our company has been around for almost 70 years and, since I became CEO in 1995, we have been moving increasingly towards very dynamic markets.
Design and, above all, fashion, constantly demand new solutions, new colours and new combinations, which (along with precise service) are our strengths.
Over time we have naturally developed this search, working both with our own staff and external companies with whom we can compare ideas.
We are currently collaborating with an established London-based company, a market leader in the pursuit of future trends, which is very useful for our seasonal collections.
Finally, the opportunity to collaborate with the style offices of top international fashion houses has really helped us in this growth process.
You have moved from architecture to eyewear: how did this shift come about?
I would add another step to the transition mentioned here: from architecture, to fashion, to eyewear.
There is a crossover of tastes in these markets, as shown by the leading fashion designers who, as well as their existing eyewear collections that have been pursued for some time, are now also moving increasingly towards architecture and design.
In all these markets, there is certainly a huge drive towards a captivating aesthetic look, so we have found many similarities between our traditional markets and the new eyewear market that we are exploring.
What are your reference markets?
Luckily, our material is very pliable, so we can dip into different areas.
We mentioned fashion and design, but we can also add the markets of fountain pens, cutlery, kitchenware, displays, lighting, smokers’ items, religious items, ornaments, musical instruments and many others.
What role does MIDO currently play on the international eyewear scene?
MIDO is still the point of reference for the global eyewear industry.
We hope that it can get more and more interesting also for the independent market, to which we belong, and the 2022 edition will certainly represent (in a more consistent way) our break into foreign markets.
What will you present at MIDO’s 50th anniversary edition?
We are coming to the conclusion that a winning factor in this market is a variety of ideas over time, so we will present our idea of a capsule collection. 50 items per colour, numbered, in tens of different colours. Once finished, the limited number items will no longer exist in the same colour.
This allows us to have an essential warehouse stock, and present new models all the time.