Somewhere in the history of making things minimalism established itself in the pursuit of accessible products, while craftsmanship became very expensive. Design did not become simple because less is more. It became minimal because it is faster to manufacture.

Some traditional brands resist this trend. For instance, the Dolce & Gabbana eyewear collection in the Sicilian Baroque style, launched in 2012, drew inspiration from frescoes, lace, and mirror frames, with gilded roses winding along the crystal acetate temples. This year, the same fashion house named its SS27 collection Stravaganza Siciliana – A Living Palimpsest. A palimpsest is an ancient manuscript where the original text was scraped off and overwritten with new text, yet the original never entirely vanishes—it remains visible in faint traces beneath the new layer.

A similar concept lies at the heart of the collection, underpinned by the story of Casa Blanca itself: travel to Italy, a different lifestyle, and an Italian alter ego. It is a place that operates differently from the metropolis of Prague. Southern Italy compels one to pause, slow down, and live a little differently. The entire region is surrounded by artifacts of the past that once entailed a great deal of manual craftsmanship—work that required time.

For years, I have held onto marble-patterned acetate sheets—in cream, gray, and black—from the Italian company Mazzucchelli. The cream version is particularly distinctive; the material itself is created by pressing and slicing together various colors. The glasses themselves can be crafted by hand in much the same way—using a hand saw, a manual router, and carving tools that can be transported in one’s luggage.

In practice, part of the processes need to be done in advance, but unrecognizable to the average person. The entire work can really be filmed as a manual production on the spot. However, there is one difference with this product, which is that it is a facial product. So it can be designed directly for you. So it can be associated with both casa and personal brand.