There is something deeply personal about the relationship each of us has with our glasses. It is not just a matter of sight — it is a matter of identity. Ale Giorgini knows this well. The Italian illustrator with an international reach got his first pair of glasses as an adult and told us: «The initial impact was not the best: those glasses felt foreign on my face. It was then that I understood a fundamental truth: a frame should not adapt to your features, but to your character. Today that accessory is my signature — an integral part of my visual identity as well».

It is from this awareness and personal experience that the collaboration with Jacques Durand was born — an artisanal eyewear brand based in Vicenza — to be presented during Milano Design Week 2026 by Punto Ottico Humaneyes in Piazza Meda.

The result is a limited edition of four models, one for each city that holds a special significance for Jacques Durand: Vicenza, Milan, New York, Tokyo. Four places that map the emotional and professional geography of Durand, from the origins to the great international expansions. But the most interesting thing is not what you see — it is what you discover only when you take the glasses off: hidden inside the frames, like a private luxury, are engravings of Giorgini’s illustrations.

«The collection made with Jacques Durand was born with a simple goal: to design the glasses I would have wanted to wear myself. Four models, four cities close to my heart, but with a secret kept inside. I wanted the engravings of my drawings to be a private luxury, visible only when you slide the frame off, while the temple tips hide a detail: the profiles of two of my characters that, once closed, meet in a kiss».

It is a detail that says a great deal about how Ale Giorgini conceives this project — as a genuine extension of his own visual poetics applied to an everyday object. The glasses are no longer just an optical tool or a style accessory: they become a small wearable artwork, with a secret kept for whoever wears them.

Formally, the collection preserves the clean, essential elegance that is typical of Jacques Durand — flat front, sharp edges — letting the illustration introduce the narrative without overpowering it. A balance that is far from obvious, and one that works precisely because both visual languages respect each other.

To bring things full circle, there is a biographical detail that Giorgini is keen to highlight: these glasses were made in Vicenza, just a short distance from where he was born and grew up. A collaboration that is, in its own way, also a homecoming.

Discover the collection at Punto Ottico Humaneyes, Piazza Meda 3, Milan, from 20 to 26 April.
On Thursday 23 April from 6:00 to 9:00 PM there will be a live painting session by Ale Giorgini.