If you’ve never heard of German eyewear company ic! berlin before, then it’s time you be part of the cooler crowd who appreciates quality high-end fashion products. A brainchild of Ralph Anderl, ic! berlin started in 1999 and shot to fame with its screwless sheetmetal glasses, thanks to a patented hinge design. The end product of this genius creation can only be fully appreciated if you have a pair of ic! berlin in your hands: the glasses are flexible, light as a feather yet highly durable.
Sticking true to the ic! berlin philosophy of creating innovative ideas and developing them beyond all expectations, the recently launched 2013 Mido Collection impressed us at first sight. The four words we’d use to describe it? Luxuriously crazy, sexy, cool.
Let’s start off with a personal favourite from the ic! berlin 2013 Mido Collection, ‘Hecking for ic! berlin.’ The collaboration with Berlin-based designer Luisa Hecking resulted in three eyewear models in matt gold/gold and chrome/silver colours with a laser engraving of a Luisa Hecking illustration. The blink-and-you-might-miss-it engraving depicts a fetish and bondage scene, so subtle yet so sexy once you’ve noticed it. Priced at RM1,700, we think the Hecking sunglasses would be worth every cent.
Another impressive design is ‘Irrlicht’, available in chrome and is priced at RM1,700. It’s a slightly smaller version of the more daring and haute couture-ish ‘Täuschung’ sunglasses, which is unfortunately not for sale in Malaysia (picture above, right). The subject of insanity was an inspiration for three other eyewear models: ‘Depression’, ‘Schizo’ and ‘Splash’, and according to the lookbook, they’re ‘Crazy specs for crazy people at crazy places.’ Maybe that’s just too crazy for us Malaysians, because these three outrageous designs are not available in our country either (picture below).
ic! berlin founder Ralph Anderl also included a range for kids in this collection, and the special feature? They were designed by the children themselves! ic! berlin actually invited a group of kids to draw their own eyewear designs, putting no limits on their creativity. Will your kid be the coolest one in class with a pair of ic! berlins? We think so.
More designs from the ic! berlin 2013 Mido Collection can be viewed at selected eyewear stores in Klang Valley. In Malaysia, ic! berlin is officially distributed by Eyewear Creations (M) Sdn. Bhd.
