TEXT | ZTEPHEN LEE
PHOTOGRAPHY | KIMIO NG
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON BLACKBIRD AUTOMOTIVE JOURNAL
Between 1985 to 1986, optometrist Paul-Jorn Lindberg and Danish architect Hans Dissing created their first eyeglasses; LINDBERG’s iconic rimless Air Titanium. The classic style debuted in 1988 on a Danish TV design show, hosted by designer Per Arnoldi. They weighed slightly less than 3 grams and featured a distinctive frame design with no screws, rivets or welds holding the glasses together. The design made them easier to adjust and bestowed a simple look. Additionally, freed of extraneous parts reduced the frame’s weight burden and provided the wearer extra comfort. The Air Titanium is made entirely of ultra-light titanium wire, which is extremely flexible, durable and comfortable. Unlike heavy glasses, the Air Titanium’s nose pads are made of skin-friendly medical silicone, relieving the wearer of two red marks on their nose.
AIR TITANIUM
Thirty years later, the Air Titanium is regarded as an icon of its era. It has not only become a signature design for LINDBERG, but it has also brought glory to the brand. Not only it has been featured in numerous design exhibitions, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but it also was awarded of a string of prestigious design prizes worldwide.
LINDBERG’s design philosophy is to create frames steeped in the Danish design tradition of discreet, classic elegance and carefully considered simplicity. The frames are free of the brand-name bling effects; the LINDBERG name is found nowhere on the frames, making them the epitome of laid-back and discreet good taste. They also believe good design and beautiful shapes, as well as high-quality materials, are the key element to the quality of life. Every LINDBERG design centers on high-quality, no-frills minimalism, devoid of decorative embellishments and visual noise. Eventually, this insistence on product quality and minimal aesthetics brought Lindberg a royal warrant from the Danish court in 2009.
9700 STRIP
In addition to the Air Titanium, Lindberg has also introduced two other styles in recent years, “9700-Strip” and “Horn.” In the 9700 Strip design, the lenses are mounted in a unique heated acetate inner rim within the titanium plate of the frame, which creates a subtle interplay of color and texture between the two materials. Like the Air Titanium, the 9700 Strip continues Lindberg’s lightweight and adjustable mantra; weighing only 6 grams, it has no screws, rivets or solderings. It also comes with four multi-adjustable ergonomic nose pads designed for optimized comfort. The 9700 Strip received 7 top international top design awards in 2014, including “Red Dot Design Award”.
HORN
For the “Horn” series, the frame is a handcrafted combination of natural buffalo horn and titanium. The front of the frame consists of layers of laminated horn, giving this living and porous material greater strength and stability, as well as bringing out the individual nuances in the material. The technical innovation and superior craftsmanship of the Horn collection have once again brought international acclaim with the prestigious Red Dot Design Award for Product Design of 2015 and Wallpaper* Design Awards, in the category of “Best Technique”.
About Lindberg
Today, Paul-Jorn Lindberg’s son, Henrik Lindberg is the managing director of the LINDBERG brand. As the first employee of LINDBERG, Henrik Lindberg has been involved in the production process from the beginning, providing advice to his father, then following in his father’s footsteps to work in the eyewear business; no one knows the brand better than him or his father. He once said that he wasn’t the type of person who liked sitting in an office, describing himself as “the helicopter” who would only come to the office to review the final details need for production decisions.
Henrik Lindberg received his architecture degree from Denmark’s School of Architecture, and he combines his deep knowledge of architecture and Danish design aesthetics to create understated eyewear which makes the LINDBERG brand the leading representative of minimalist luxury at its best.
Comments