COY Eyewear Magazine RETROSUPERFUTURE: Colour, Clarity and the Milan Studio Mindset Curated by COY Eyewear · Independent sunglasses and modern design culture RETROSUPERFUTURE sits in a rare position. It is recognised both by people who follow fashion and by those who simply care about clear, disciplined design. For COY Eyewear, the brand represents a precise intersection of Milanese culture, Italian craft and a way of treating sunglasses as objects with their own language rather than seasonal accessories. A Milan Magazine That Became a Design House RETROSUPERFUTURE was created in 2007 by Daniel and Simon Beckerman, who were then producing the independent music magazine PIG in Milan. Their move into eyewear grew from a simple intuition. The market felt predictable and muted, so they introduced thick Italian acetate in clear and expressive colours instead of the usual black and tortoise shell. The idea travelled quickly through the city, carried by artists, musicians and designers who recognised a frame that could sit comfortably inside their own visual identity. What defined the early period was not advertising but proximity to culture. The frames appeared in clubs, studios and street photography before they appeared in campaigns. Sunglasses became an extension of the editorial world the Beckerman brothers already understood, only now translated into acetate and lenses. For COY readers who care about where a brand comes from, this origin explains why RETROSUPERFUTURE still feels connected to real scenes rather than constructed ones. Italian Craft Guided by Weekly Studio Research Behind the recognisable silhouettes is a studio rhythm that treats eyewear as product design. The RETROSUPERFUTURE team meets regularly to review proportions, colour clarity and structural details, refining frames until they feel balanced on the face as well as convincing in profile. Production remains entirely in Italy, which allows direct work with manufacturers who specialise in acetate shaping, finishing and subtle adjustments that are hard to control at a distance. This combination of research and proximity informs choices that are not immediately visible in photographs but become clear in daily wear. Acetate thickness is tuned so that frames feel substantial without becoming heavy. Chromatic choices are tested in natural light, not only in studio setups. The brand has also worked with respected lens makers to match expressive frame design with reliable optical performance. For COY, this studio practice is one of the reasons RETROSUPERFUTURE sits comfortably among our selected independent sunglasses brands. A Clear Perspective on the Past and the Future The name of the brand reflects a method rather than a slogan. RETROSUPERFUTURE studies references from the past, from classic shapes to early street culture, then moves them forward through contemporary colour research and refined geometry. Recent collections have drawn from music, city nightlife and early two thousand visual language without relying on nostalgia. The result is frames that feel familiar enough to be wearable but precise enough to avoid repetition. Designs such as Zaga, Thelonius and Komori demonstrate how the studio builds character through proportion, volume and line rather than through surface decoration. Some frames explore bolder acetate profiles, others reduce the gesture to a clean metal outline, but all of them share the same internal code of wearability and clarity. Within the COY universe, RETROSUPERFUTURE serves as a reference point for readers who want sunglasses that belong to current culture without being defined by short lived trends. For COY Eyewear, RETROSUPERFUTURE is not just a familiar name. It is a case study in how a brand can grow from a small Milanese magazine office into an established design studio without losing its sense of purpose. Choosing a pair of RETROSUPERFUTURE sunglasses from COY is less about collecting a logo and more about wearing a coherent idea, shaped over time by people who take both culture and construction seriously. Discover the current selection of RETROSUPERFUTURE sunglasses on COY Eyewear.
