HAPTER x LECLAIREUR - Là-Bas, Loin, l'Horizon

The latest collaboration between Leclaireur and the Italian eyewear brand HAPTER, offers us to see the world and its history through a post-modern prism - almost straight out of Mad Max.

Founded by Eric and Mirko, Hapter owes its creation to the hazards of fate: one day, while exploring the dangerous Italian Dolomites where they come from, the two designers discovered an old pair of military glasses, a forgotten treasure from the First World War. Their collection was born a few years later, in 2013. Leclaireur immediately spotted the brand's potential, especially with the TXTL001 model.

We had the opportunity to meet with HAPTER to discuss the life of this young brand and the naturalist inspiration behind these tinted glasses:

Leclaireur: Hapter is still a young brand, how has it developed over the past few years?

Hapter: From the beginning, we have taken the decision to continually provoke the meeting of opposing elements, to assemble them in such a way that different cultures and industrial materials are brought to coexist. To achieve this, we had to deconstruct traditional eyewear in order to better reconstruct it, with a soft, malleable steel structure and an expressive material. This very specific and innovative approach has been refined and sustained over the last few years, through radical product development, a new and constantly evolving manufacturing process, and the installation of our workshops just a stone's throw from our home in Belluno, a small village nestled in the Italian Dolomite Mountains.

L: What makes you different from other opticians?

H: HAPTER is a quasi-revolution, inspired by the notion of union. Our sunglasses are based on an industrial grade stainless steel skeleton, which we assemble to a military inspired cotton, developed and manufactured by Lanificio F.lli Cerruti (Cerruti Woolen Mills) our production partner in this adventure. Hapteria, our workshop, is the quintessence of a contemporary art laboratory. Manual and technological work go hand in hand with alchemy, mathematical formulas and meticulous methods.

L: Tell us about your relationship with Leclaireur and, more specifically, about your collaboration.

H: The heart of our relationship goes back to our first collection in 2013, through which Leclaireur spotted the potential of our project. At the time, we were just starting a dizzying learning curve, with a simple and fairly raw collection. With the latest innovations and developments introduced to the collection lately, we were eager to involve Leclaireur's eye in a particular project. This is what we did, reinforcing our original aging technique, applied to the finished product with precise brushstrokes, provoking a reaction from the precious metal that covers the frame.

This same technique allows us to treat the noble materials that adorn our eyewear (compact cotton like a military canvas and merino wool - both woven by Lanicio F.lli Cerruti) like the weathered trench coats that inspire us so much at HAPTER. True to its unique perception, Leclaireur understands the importance of keeping HAPTER's connection to its origins alive. Our creations are born from these mountains, as rugged as they are dangerous, as isolated as they are perilous. We have enjoyed collaborating with Leclaireur because we move in the same direction, and share the same tastes, those of the constant quest for new skills and the perpetual questioning of our balance, in a creative adventure in continual progression.

L: The film HAPTER | THE ORIGIN is as rich and poetic as it is adventurous, how did it come about?

H: HAPTER was inspired by an old pair of military goggles, dating from the Second World War, which were used for glacier expeditions and discovered in the local Dolomite mountains. Since then, we have been committed to recreating the unique state of mind that we feel when we return to our summits. We strive to reproduce this sensory connection between the visual and the material. At some point, we felt the need to share this emotion, the visual and haughty nobility that the mountain inspires in us, but also the understanding we have of it, its omnipresence in our minds and its influence on our actions...

This is how the idea for this video was born: a romantic hero as protagonist, facing the mountain, draws from the depths of his soul to find the strength and self-awareness necessary for the climb that will accompany him forever. The heart of everything is the relationship that man has with nature, experienced as the absolute immanence within the perceived world. Nature, at its most beautiful, brings out very different emotions in man, which terrorize him as much as they stimulate him. The protagonist is guided by the internal conflict between his existence and his continual quest for perfection, but also by his determination to reach the highest peaks to satisfy his thirst for discovery and knowledge of the world around him. It goes without saying that this is a metaphor for our experience.