Author: Newsroom

Emilio Fulgione

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1

The Traceability Project, whose launch you oversaw, is an important step involving the supply chain. What’s it all about?

Sustainability is one of the cornerstones of the Marcolin story: we’re committed to this issue in every area of the company, starting with the product and involving the entire value chain. The result of this engagement, in terms of product for example, prompted the company, the first in the eyewear sector – among manufacturers – to obtain ISO 13485:2016 certification, an international standard for quality management systems in the medical device sector. An important prerequisite for this award was the ‘Traceability Project’ in which the company has been engaged for some time, supporting continuous monitoring in the supply chain of glasses placed on the market. The project envisages that all frames for sunglasses and prescription glasses made by Marcolin will feature a laser-engraved serial number on the temple (also indicated on the labelling of each product, together with the date of manufacture), thus enabling the company to trace the frames from production to distribution. 

2

How does traceability affect the sustainability of both natural and human resources?

Certification and the Traceability Project are part of a broader ESG plan developed by the company, which has economic, social and environmental sustainability as one of the foundations of its development strategy. We embrace care for the environment, for people and for effective, modern corporate governance, to achieve those 17 SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals, Ed.] set by the United Nations in 2015. A commitment for all of us, which we also ask our partners and suppliers to share, in a vision of collective social responsibility. 

3

What’s the secret of an efficient and sustainable supply chain, and in which factors will Marcolin be investing in the future?

Marcolin pursues its commitment by investing: through research and development projects focusing on new sustainable materials for both products and packaging. Then we have monitoring and quality and product safety control along all stages of the value chain. But we go even further than that, by qualifying and selecting our suppliers, drawing up an ongoing analysis and risk assessment. Attention to the environment also involves our production site, whose environmental management system is certified in compliance with ISO 14001. It’s the accolades we’ve received that motivate us to continue along this path: we’re constantly engaged in the study and development of energy efficiency and waste reduction projects. Without forgetting the importance of the safety of the environments in which production facilities are located. Ensuring safe, healthy environments for our resources is another of the company’s core values. 

Timberland and the Earthkeepers®

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Quarantanove anni fa, il 5 giugno 1974, si celebrava la prima giornata mondiale dell’ambiente.

Istituita dall’Assemblea Generale delle Nazioni Unite nel 1972, allo scopo di tracciare un Programma di politiche ambientali, l’iniziativa ha raccolto nel corso del tempo l’adesione di oltre 100 paesi a sostegno di una campagna di sensibilizzazione che fa sentire la propria voce ogni anno, il giorno 5 del mese di giugno. In un crescendo, la comunità internazionale, sempre più nutrita e coesa, si è di volta in volta occupata di un focus diverso: l’edizione del 2023, ospitata in Costa d’Avorio, in partnership con i Paesi Bassi, si concentra su un tema di scottante attualità in fatto di inquinamento ambientale e ricorda quanto le azioni dei singoli individui siano fondamentali nel contrasto all’utilizzo della plastica nella vita di tutti i giorni. Lo slogan scelto per accompagnare la campagna si annuncia già virale: #Beatplasticpollution. A questo slogan e alle azioni che puntano a un impegno concreto a tutela dell’ambiente si unisce anche Marcolin, dando voce a uno dei suoi top brand tra i più innovativi sulla scena.

Questa è la storia di Timberland, il cui sentiero intrapreso ha portato l’azienda ad essere leader mondiale nella progettazione e commercializzazione di calzature di qualità premium, abbigliamento e accessori per coloro che amano la vita outdoor.

Timberland realizza prodotti impegnandosi ad apportare il suo contributo per affrontare le sfide ambientali e minimizzare l’impatto sul pianeta. È in questo contesto che il marchio ha sposato una forma di design squisitamente responsabile e dato vita a una collezione eyewear che intreccia materiali ad alto tasso valoriale e il bene comune: perché mai come oggi è tempo degli Earthkeepers®! La filosofia che sta alla base di questa collezione è semplice e pulita, promuovendo l’impegno a proteggere l’ambiente attraverso prodotti responsabili.

Con questa chiara visione nascono i due nuovi modelli Earthkeepers® della primavera 2023.

Occhiali da sole e da vista, dal design esclusivo e responsabile, realizzati con il 50% di plastica a base biologica. Come si traduce tutto questo in fatto di stile? In occhiali in acetato bio-based, costituito da fibre di legno e di cotone o di originale vegetale, pensati per gli amanti delle attività outdoor o per vivere la realtà quotidiana di scenari urbani. La ricercatezza sta nel dettaglio: nelle montature, impreziosite da inserti in metallo e gomma, e nel sapiente uso del colore, come per esempio nella collezione da sole dalle lenti polarizzate, il cui trattamento antiriflesso favorisce la percezione e, al contempo, la protezione da potenziali raggi dannosi. Che si tratti della classica montatura da vista squadrata, o della versione da sole dallo spirito casual, il valore sta tanto nel dettaglio quanto nella dimensione che incarnano: la filosofia degli Earthkeepers®.

Yanis Serbout

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1

What are your breakfast rituals and what looks do you match with this moment of the day?

 I like wearing super-comfy outfits for breakfast, without sacrificing detail refinement: to never go wrong, I opt for a linen shirt in shades of white or very neutral tones. In the morning I like being active and I want to start working right away, so my daily routine starts with checking my email. Once I’m done, there’s nothing better than waking my muscles up, so I like taking the time to go for a walk.

To explore and connect with the atmosphere of this place and its streets, I choose something informal. I prefer a simple outfit, I can easily dress up with a luxury and chic accessory, like a nice pair of sunglasses.
2

The afternoon, instead, is devoted to the city. What do you wear for exploring its streets and for visiting one of its art galleries?

To explore and connect with the atmosphere of this place and its streets, I choose something informal, like light-colored Bermuda shorts, to pair with a casual tone-on-tone top. I prefer a simple outfit, suitable for walking with sandals, but that I can easily dress up with a luxury and chic accessory, like a nice pair of sunglasses. A detail that gives me the right style to go anywhere. Art galleries included. 

3

Cocktail time. From the scented notes of a drink to the sensorial notes of Sorrento. What look do you choose for elegance?

From sunset onward, it’s time for chilling out. A long day of walking up and down the coast is over. I recover in front of the vibrant colors of the sky at sunset. For the evening, I prefer looks in tones of black. Non just because black is the color of style par excellence, but also because it’s a great option. Also in Sorrento.

Guglielmo Miani

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1

Among your passions, the one for speed seems particularly strong. When and how did the spark happen?

I’ve had a passion for speed since I was a kid. I had a very special godfather whose passion earned him the Offshore world championship title three times. He was a great car collector. He passed on his thirst for speed to me. Not by chance the 2023 edition of FuoriConcorso showcased cars best representing aerodynamics, i.e. the study of the interaction between the motion of a car and the air. [editor’s note].

I’ve had a passion for speed since I was a kid. I had a very special godfather whose passion earned him the Offshore world championship title three times.
2

Talking about style codes. What are the three must-have accessories for a gentleman while driving?

Certainly a pair of sports gloves, a tool kit in case of need and, of course, a pair of sunglasses.  

 

3

WEB EYEWEAR is Marcolin’s house brand with a dynamic and contemporary attitude. Why do you like wearing it?

Actually, this frame is perfect for me, it’s the ideal mix of a sleek silhouette and comfort, so that I can feel at ease in any condition. And it also protects my eyes perfectly, thanks to the dark lenses.

Italian passion 
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  Marcolin and FuoriConcorso: two stories of passion 
It was 1961 when Marcolin was born in the valley that would become the world’s largest eyewear district. A beginning shaped by the passion of its founder, Giovanni Marcolin, who had a vision and succeeded in transforming a small artisan factory into the multinational company it is today. This is a typical story of passion of which Italy is known, as is the one that gave rise to FuoriConcorso. Just as Fuorisalone exists for Milan’s Design Week, FuoriConcorso was born in 2019 at Como Lake, an event that takes place every year during the weekend of the world’s most prestigious classic cars show, Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance.
 
  Design as a creative engine 
Created by Guglielmo Miani, founder of the fashion brand Larusmiani and a great motoring enthusiast, FuoriConcorso takes place in the gardens of Villa del Grumello, Villa Sucota and Villa Olmo, historic residences overlooking Lake Como and connected by a botanical landscape and cultural route, the “Chilometro della Conoscenza.” An event over the course of two days sees the villas surrounded by historic cars and unique pieces of priceless value, photographers and creators, journalists, enthusiasts, and collectors from all over the world. To not only celebrate the cars, but also the Italian lifestyle, the culture of beauty and manufacturing excellence, through partners with the same core values.  
 
  Performance and style compared 
For the past two years Marcolin has been linked to the event, and on the weekend of May 20th and 21st it offered guests an immersive journey into its manufacturing process, with a corner dedicated to its house brand, WEB EYEWEAR, with the presentation of the new capsule collection created in collaboration with Alfa Romeo F1® Team, which Marcolin signed a multi-year partnership agreement in 2022. The presence of a race simulator completed the Marcolin experience of FuoriConcorso guests, who had the chance to get behind the wheel of a single-seater and drive at adrenaline-fueled speeds on an F1 circuit.  
See you at the next edition! 
 
 
Marcolin in Sorrento
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  Sorrento, just like a star, brightens up the fourth and last part of the peninsula – the final stretch of land of Campania overlooking the sea that owes its name to it. 
Renowned for its captivating charm, according to myth, Sorrento is the “queen” of the land where the legendary sirens were said to reside. Like sailors, attracted by the beauty of this stretch of coast, against the breathtaking backdrop of the Gulf of Naples, Around the World, Marcolin’s column that explores the world from the viewpoint of eyewear, lands on this beautiful location in Italy with Aya, better known as Milanpyramid, one of the most influential content creators globally. Aya – born in 1996 in Egypt but raised in Milan – gives voice to a generation of young women whose identity is otherwise little represented. 
      
  As a symbol of a cultural melting pot, she focuses on fashion as a key topic to share her experiences as a young Muslim woman in Italy 
Thanks to her great taste, which clearly nods to vintage inspirations, this meeting in Sorrento, the major city in the Sorrento Peninsula, steeply rising from the sea at 50 meters above sea level, is accompanied by a mood board with an all-Italian style. «The whole world recognizes the magnificent beauty of the Amalfi Coast but only few people have visited Sorrento. It’s a little jewel in the crown», says Aya.
 The best way to end the day is to relax on the beach at sunset
 
  With these geometric wraparound shapes and versatile materials – ranging from bold acetate to a lightweight metal frame that, with its tubular temples, conveys a dash of edginess – wearers are immersed into the atmosphere of Sorrento, day to night. 
At every corner, there’s something special and amazing: whether you’re taking a stroll downtown, through the little streets running around Piazza Tasso, the city’s outdoor salon, with its coffee shops and retro chairs – the ideal place for a short break, while sipping the peninsula’s typical lemon-based drink. Or whether you’re admiring the places devoted to the spirit – the Cloister of Saint Frances, which is the warm-tinted symbol of the spirit itself, or roaming around the local market stalls, picking their fresh produce. The ever-present color dotting the landscape, apart from the blue of the sea, is the green of its lush parks. In Villa Fiorentino, a great example of Italian Art Nouveau style, with its rose and camellia gardens pervaded by the dominant olfactory notes of a citrus grove, a colonial building is concealed, which once served as the residence of the caretaker and which contains mysterious frescoes of unknown origin.
 The whole world recognizes the magnificent beauty of the Amalfi Coast but only few people have visited Sorrento. It’s a little jewel in the crown
 
  There are many ways to end the day in Sorrento 
But Aya suggests one in particular, with a timeless charm. «The best way to end the day is to relax on the beach at sunset» she states. And the private beach of the Maya Beach Resort in Massa Lubrense, along that stretch of coast inhabited by the legendary sirens, is the ideal venue to fall under the spell of the waves, wearing extremely oversize lenses as a protection talisman.
Bauhaus Inspiration
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  What impulses lie behind the birth of a shape and a colour? 
Elisa Lovatello, Senior Creative Designer & Cool Hunter at Marcolin, right from the start debunks a cliché. “There’s no such thing as a creative routine for a designer,” Elisa points out. “That’s precisely what makes it the best job in the world,” she continues. The beginning of this adventure winds along a path whose destination is the construction of a story, a solid but emotional one – like the one created through a pair of glasses – that is nourished, and grows, thanks to needs, be they latent or explicit. For a creative person, moving through the world of desires and fulfilling them means intercepting people’s needs through intuition. Research, at this point, is the indispensable scope that allows a creative person to measure themselves against the most important variable in the development of an idea: the historical moment in which people live and move. There are texts that addressed the fresh relevance of such a research method back in the day, which counted factors long neglected by traditional historians as decisive in identifying the totality of a civilisation: as early as the beginning of the 1930s, Johan Huizinga, the famous Dutch historian, claimed attention to dreams, illusions, fears and even colour sensitivities to define the character of an era.
  These aspects mark the better-known history of mindsets which, even more so, has to come to terms with the scenarios that condition everyday life 
“In the aftermath of the lockdown, we saw a drastic change in people’s needs,” says Elisa. “The quest for wellbeing, both physical and emotional, was an essential element at a time when there was a renewed impetus in the use of technology.” If communicating and going about one’s business from home, taking advantage of agile working options, have proved to be acts of resilience, in the realm of taste and aesthetics they have translated into canons reminiscent of the essence of the Bauhaus movement, officially established in Germany in 1919, which gave voice to rebellion by attributing functionalism to art and crafts.
 Ovals and rectangles as solid and soothing emotional reality. 
 
  In the post-pandemic context, people’s needs have become equally divided between wellbeing and the functionality of technology, placed at the service of society 
“Aesthetically, this trend, defined by people’s need for protection and a quest for stability, at such a delicate time in history, resulted, as it did for the Bauhaus school, in a return to geometric shapes and primary colours.” Traces of these influences, which since the 20th century have continued to intertwine with the style of our time – and for that to come, according to industry experts – are present in the new Marcolin collections and tell of a world of abundant volumes, shapes with enveloping and transparent masks, evoking tension towards a need for protection, represented through very bold, fluorescent colours, such as yellow and orange. And while for certain accessories, like shoes for example, we have seen the return to the catwalk of square heels, the quintessential symbol of stability, on the face certain shapes have proved more functional than others in recreating the same purpose. Ovals and rectangles as the manifestation of a solid and soothing emotional reality, in the exercise of an aesthetic that does not alter but rather enhances the value of the naturalness of a face.
Maria Frida
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  Just as Frida Kahlo 
One of the most influential female artists of the 20th century in many respects – from gender history to politics, from art to contemporary culture in the broadest sense – was born and lived in the same place, according to a single act of love, the creation of this collector’s item at Marcolin is the result of the particular symphony created between a client – a brand with a marked penchant for experimentation – and a creative team eager to surf the waves of inspiration. How did the union between a modern, revolutionary icon and a plant with equally nonconformist symbolism come about? The link was created by virtue of the creative input provided by GCDS: namely the client’s logo and marijuana leaves.
 Composed of 250 silkscreen-printed, hand-painted flowers. Flower by flower, they were positioned individually
 
  It is precisely this leaf that plays the starring role in a unique piece 
Created as an object of desire and to successfully parade down a major catwalk, later recreated as a prototype to enrich the Marcolin archive. The fact that it is a collector’s item is defined by the elaborate geometry of the details: the eyewear, with its generous volume and pastel colours, echoing the shapes and colours typical of the 1970s, is composed of 250 silkscreen-printed, hand-painted flowers. Flower by flower, they were positioned individually, following the common thread that would then create the visual effect to be achieved. Also contributing to the unique character of the piece was the special importance attached to the names by which the projects resulting from this collaboration are identified. In this case, uniting the collective imagination linked to Frida Kahlo with the leaf and its symbolism was the creative flair of a team well aware that even if we called a flower by any other name, its rebellious and revolutionary scent would remain.
 
 
 The fact that it is a collector’s item is defined by the elaborate geometry of the details
 
Sabrina Paulon
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  1
  Marcolin has more than two thousand employees worldwide. 57% are women. What are your actions aiming towards in terms of inclusion? 
Marcolin has always supported company policies that promote work-life balance. This was already the case before I joined the company in 2014. Since its foundation, Marcolin has implemented policies aimed to support its female employees with nursery fees, for example, to prevent women in an area of the Belluno district lacking in services from abandoning their jobs and deciding to take care of their families, either by choice or out of necessity. There’s always been a willingness on the part of the company to encourage gender policies, in a broad sense, because at the time women made up more than 60% of company employees, especially in the production sector. Over time, Marcolin has grown into a managerial company, with an international dimension, and is no longer family owned. This new set-up has also affected human resources management. We’ve developed several policies to support not only female but also male employees, who also play a key role in family management. Again, in support of work-life balance, we have included several benefits, from parental leave also being extended to fathers to the development of in-company and digital focus groups on parenting pathways, addressing, for example, the challenge of the new world of teenagers. These are initiatives that focus on the wellbeing of the individual. With a balanced family life, people can bring more energy into the company and transfer the same balance to it. To promote inclusion, we decided to write a charter, which we have called the ‘Diversity and Inclusion Charter’, to be handed down as part of Marcolin’s DNA, enshrined in a second-level agreement, because one positive thing we have today, among others, is that we consider diversity an added value. But we did not stop there. The Charter will be followed by actions and projects that will emphasise Marcolin’s commitment within this sphere.
  2
  What company policies have been put in place to foster the professional growth of staff in the company? 
This is another important aspect of actions to support human resources in Marcolin. We have set up Leadership Academy pathways with the aim of nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. This year, for the first time, we have put on a session dedicated to female leadership, although the class will be inclusive and mixed. We will continue to actively support the ‘Empowering Optical Women Leadership’ project run by ANFAO – the Italian National Association of Optical Goods Manufacturers. In addition to addressing classic topics, such as soft skills and financial brand finals, we will focus on the typical value characteristics of female employees and how they interchange between the two genders. Without forgetting that this year we have been recognised as ‘Italy’s Best Employers for Women 2023’ in the eyewear industry, according to the report conducted by the German Quality and Finance Institute.
  3
  What are the three key words for successful human resources management? And in what way is Marcolin unique? 
 
 
When we talk about human resources, we are talking about people, not just employees or working relationships. It is important for us to be able to listen to the needs of new employees because we have realised that they have changed profoundly over time. We have moved from welfare-related requests, i.e. relating to services, such as rewards in terms of remuneration to be used for forms of recreation or welfare, to agile working, a policy that Marcolin had already envisaged for its employees before the pandemic precisely in order to help create a work-life balance. Today, there are those who wish to have more time at their disposal and those who wish to grow quickly within the company. That’s why we have facilitated agile working solutions even five times a week and professional growth pathways, through job protection policies and the Academy, but also with work challenges abroad, for those people who wish to prioritise their professional fulfilment. As far as I’m concerned, it’s important to deal with human resources with flexibility: this allows me to accommodate all employees and to be able to build an organisation that can reconcile all needs.
Longarone Valley
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  Is there any emotional landscape more engaging than a shot captured from above? 
It seems like an infinite amount of time has passed since, at the end of the 1970s, aerial photography by the Frenchman Yann-Arthus Bertrand began to show us the world through the quintessential imagery-filled point of view – according to many filmmakers, scriptwriters and, indeed, photographers – whatever, from a bird’s eye view, is able to capture textures of reality and bring to our attention secrets that the human eye, from a simple ‘American shot’, for example, would find hard to see. Today, drones have replaced helicopters, and for many artists they are the most appropriate tool for capturing the face of nature and cities from the right distance. Neither too close. Nor too far away. Around the world, the column that explores the world from the perspective of eyewear couldn’t help but begin its wanderings from where Marcolin’s story began: Longarone, in the heart of the Cadore region, an area known the world over as the eyewear district, the only one home to one of the very few museums dedicated to the kaleidoscopic historical evolution of eyewear. And what better vantage point than from above? What is evident, under this piece of sky, a stone’s throw from Belluno and destinations with a strong resonance – such as Cortina D’Ampezzo, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo or even the lakes, such as Misurina and Cadore, with their azure waters and Eden-like panoramas – is an emotional geography of a place, and its surroundings, whose freeze frame depicts the range of matching tones of the natural elements. Air, earth, water and fire, in which crackling echoes call to mind snowy scenarios during the quintessential season of these lands i.e. winter, are the most authentic face of a mountain community, united with five others, ideally located in the central southern area of the Belluno Dolomites National Park.
 
  A natural World Heritage 
 Suspended over 470 metres above sea level, nestled in the largest province of the Veneto region – Belluno – Longarone is considered an open door to an interregnum separating two worlds, with paths traced to rise from the earth, the peaks of its mountains, the Dolomites, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009. It is precisely the peaks of these landscapes that establish an indispensable and undoubtedly emotional bond with the local area and the element of rock. A passion for these mountains that has inspired artists, explorers, such as Vittorino Cazzetta, to whom we owe the discovery of the famous Mondeval hunter, who helped to give an identity to the Mesolithic era in these areas, or writers such as Dino Buzzati, born in this great province of Belluno. The icy influence of the Dolomites flows in the same way in Marcolin, a company with deep ties to the emotional geography of its homeland.
  The profile of the mountains as a style detail 
While on the summit of Monte Rite stands the Museum in the Clouds, the highest in all of Europe, paying homage to the mountain as the custodian of a heritage that encompasses the essence of mountain life, with its glass and steel domes on the foundations of a former fort, a remnant of World War I, profiling the most striking glimpse of the Monti Pallidi – the other name by which an ancient legend defines the Dolomites – and to the east of the Cadore region, Marcolin allows this passion to be expressed by the brand that is representative of its DNA, Web Eyewear, which embodies the adventurous spirit and love for the beauty of these places in a contemporary and essential style. And it is precisely the profile of the Dolomites, with its reflections, that is imprinted on the brand’s iconic eyewear: ascending the shades of these peaks recreated along the temples, until reaching the heart of the frame, as if on the summit of a mountain, wearing the most ethereal of elements: air, floating and light.