Even for Franco Sordelli, the Italian manufacturer with more than a century of experience, this was a real challenge. Montestella grew out of Sordelli’s decade-long collaboration with Milanese designer Tommaso Bossetti and took more than two years to develop. “A good project needs time to mature, make mistakes and improve,” says Bossetti. “What I would like people to feel when they pick up a Montestella frame is not the complexity behind it, but simply that the object feels right.”

Time is also central to what the brand calls Slow Made: taking the time to develop, test and make things properly rather than prioritising speed or volume. The frames are entirely made in Italy in small series, through specialised Italian partners, with every component, down to the screws, exclusive and traceable to its origin. Launching this September, six optical models show how the same technical foundation can take on two quite different characters. presence is warmer and more expressive, with glass-fibre fronts and bio-acetate temples. Essence is cooler and more minimal, combining forged-carbon fronts with beta-titanium temples. The engineering remains the same, while materials and design give it a different visual presence.

The brand’s name ultimately ties the project to Milan. Montestella takes its name from Monte Stella, the hill near San Siro known to Milanese people as La Montagnetta. Created after the Second World War, it emerged from architect piero Bottoni’s transformation of the city’s rubble into a new urban landscape, and was named after his wife, Stella.