Why it belongs in ORBIS
Milan cycling-eyewear brand founded in 2017, built around a revived 1980s frame mould; frames are designed and handcrafted in Italy for road, gravel and outdoor sport use.
Alba Optics is a cycling and outdoor-sport eyewear brand based in Milan, founded in 2017 around an original eyewear mould from the 1980s that the founders sourced and rebuilt using contemporary materials. Their first model, the DELTA, launched from that revived mould and set the retro-futurist visual language the brand has continued since. The company is based on Via Ponchielli in Milan, with manufacturing in facilities north of the city, and describes every pair as handcrafted in Italy. Despite investor interest, the founders have kept the company self-funded and independent.