DITA Epiluxury
Case Study

Branding
Writing
Film
Digital
Editorial
Packaging
Spatial
Photography

Epiluxury was born from a single question: “What is luxury?”

This question was posed in 2015, as DITA celebrated 20 years as one of the leaders in a luxury marketplace it no longer recognized.

It took the brand on a four year journey of design, engineering, and development for in order to have a product that answered  its own self-imposed challenge. A lack of easy answers resulted in the ambition to create a new segment of luxury.

The goal is in it’s name: ‘EPI’ from the Greek, meaning “above” and “luxury”. Loosely translated, EPILUXURY means “above luxury.”

The intent for EPILUXURY is to partner with the best of the best in their chosen field to create radical products and services and push craft forward.

From ‘luxury’ automotive, to ‘luxury’ t-shirts and ‘luxury’ dog bowls. EPILUXURY is a response to an industry attempting to elevate the banal through logos alone.

The first epiluxury product:
The eyewear segment

DITA-EPILUXURY

“We launched the concept of EPILUXURY with eyewear because its where our expertise lies. But there is no reason there couldn’t be EPILUXURY skincare or a fragrance where we seek out an incredible perfumer to partner with. We are just looking to do something different,” says Michael Castillo, Head of Design DITA Group.

Debuting July 2019, DITA-EPILUXURY consists of six frames formed from natural, precious, and technical materials, all uniquely engineered to serve as both essential accessories and transmutable objects of desire.     

What defines DITA-EPILUXURY
as EPILUXURY?

All EPILUXURY products must adhere to five key tenets, the symbols of which act as an ever-present reminder in the logo:

Tenet One:

Functional Performance

DITA-EPILUXURY’S six frames are designed as a modular system. Switch between a straight temple to a performance oriented cable temple. With DITA-EPILUXURY Flagship frames, mineral glass lenses encased in titanium also become interchangeable with an easy locking mechanism.

Tenet Two:

Engineering Technology

DITA-EPILUXURY is a playground for pushing the limits of manufacturing, with a debut collection so complex it took 39 months from conception to completion. Only one highly specialized manufacturer could achieve DITA-EPILUXURY’S interchangeable temple design. The temple, built from 21 pieces and possessing a functioning spring hinge, is the culmination of a process of design and development pushing engineer, designer, and craftsman forward.

Tenet Three:

Artisan Craftsmanship

Since 1995, DITA has been at the forefront o advancing optical tradition with next-generation technology. With DITA-EPILUXURY that means temples crafted from rare horn and exquisite woods sourced from Germany, honed by DITA’s most relied upon Japanese manufacturer: DITA’s sole partner equipped to make DITA-EPILUXURY a reality.

Tenet Four:
Timeless Design

DITA-EPILUXURY doesn’t have tomorrow’s trends in mind, but the passage of time. As DITA-EPILUXURY evolves in form and function with each annual collection, so in time will DITA, and the EPILUXURY of today will form the foundation for the DITA of tomorrow.

Tenet Five:

Personal Exclusivity

DITA carefully cultivates its DITA-EPILUXURY clients as it does its frames, providing the with rare edition releases of temples, bridge components and lenses framed in precious materials available to exclusive accounts and clientele.

All DITA-EPILUXURY frames are hand numbered limited editions, with the Core collection limited to 500 pieces per color and the Flagship collection limited to 200 pieces per color.

Brand Poetics & Concept Maps

Concept maps are webs of linked terms that help visualize the mental model of Epiluxury and clarify the story and visual direction. These are the blueprints to create meaningful written and visual ideas.

The purpose of this is to create emotional bonds between practical terms. Our efforts are directed to inspire and seduce with an insightful and individual point of view, Then deliver on that promise with the product.

In this instance the word maps informed the identity itself becoming elements of the 5 Epiluxury seals.

Divine geometry was an ancient hermetic practice of mapping man’s ascendence from impure to pure.

Colloquial examples of this are Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and the Golden Ratio, but it’s influence spreads far beyond this.

Historically these graphic interpretations were used as maps or guides to turn spiritual lead into gold. In parallel an Epiluxury product turns the mundane (fragrance, skincare, watches) into something extraordinary.

This is where the Epiluxury bible begins.

Superior performance comes from eliminating everything that doesn’t contribute to its purpose. Resulting in things that look and perform the way they do not because they can, but because they must.

That are beautiful because they perform beautifully.

It’s not found in scruitinizing gap tolerances, in calculations, formulating materials, or developing new technologies.

With all the engineering, research and knowledge that mechanics can teach. The true value of this measurement can’t be recorded at all, it can only be felt.

It doesn’t begin as engineering. Or design.It begins as an ideal. The pursuit of excellence unencumbered spirit and unrestrained imagination.

From which lines where shaped. Technologies refined. And form perfected until something exquisite emerges.

A form with feeling.
A material with meaning.
A detail with depth.

When every surface tells a story. 
The one thing we’re really looking for
can’t be seen anyway.

The ultimate measure of EPILUXURY is not found in number of sales. Or celebrities. Or in magazines. It is evident in the unique experience of its owners. Because the creators had one sole focus.

Every aspect of an EPILUXURY product is shaped by a singular expression, for a singular audience.