Alastair Philip Wiper Brings Mykita Into Focus

Copenhagen, Denmark-based photographer Alastair Philip Wiper recently photographed the manufacturing process behind MYKITA from start to finish, traveling to their Berlin factory to document both the machinery work and hand craftsmanship that goes into making glasses. 

What was involved in planning and preproduction?

Finding out which of the suppliers were the most important, and arranging access to their factories. Then deciding which processes were most important to show. We also did some still life shoots of some important pieces of equipment, and of glasses at different stages of the production, so we had to organize a studio and find out which things we wanted to shoot.

What was the objective of the shoot and who was the audience?

The idea was to show the manufacturing process of MYKITA glasses, from the suppliers to the assembly in Berlin, including the industrial processes of making some of the materials and the hand craftsmanship that goes into making the glasses themselves.

What were the shoots and the space like?

MYKITA assembles all their glasses in their central Berlin factory, and they hired me to document the whole process—from visiting suppliers in different parts of Germany, to the design process in Berlin, to the assembly and packing. I spent about a week on the project working with an Art Director from MYKITA.

Most of the people assembling the glasses in their Berlin factory, a beautiful old building, are young and hip—there is a good atmosphere, it’s not really a factory at all, more like a huge workshop. It’s great to see so much “old school” workmanship still happening on a large scale in the middle of the city.

Credits:
Art Director: Adeline Mollard

See more of Alastair at alastairphilipwiper.com!

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