'Dreaming with your eyes open' is a common expression that might well remind you of a child-like world, but it's also a state of mind in adults, one that in past years psychologists have compared to an incapacity for cognitive control. However, recent discoveries and neuropsychological theories appear to have re-qualified daydreaming as a valuable resource for human beings, seeing it as a cerebral activity that, far from being useless or counterproductive, could actually help with creative problem-solving and refining the intellect. During the pandemic years, this theory was validated. The restrictions imposed on us rigorous habits that switched on our powers of imagination, becoming a tool we could use to nurture optimism through challenging times. And so it is that expressions such as daydreaming, mind-wandering and rêverie - a French term also used to mean imagination and the state of being lost in thought - increasingly became part of our lives and transmitted their positive meanings to products of fashion, design and accessories, including eye glasses. In eyewear, the principle of escapism evoked by daydreaming comes in several forms, becoming a source of inspiration for visionary ideas or an immersive space that leads our minds to an imaginary other place. Emerging Italian brand Junk  is spurring our desire for freedom with the launch campaign created for its new collection, Motion Sleekness, in which the frames are worn by a group of dancers and contortionists, asked to express themselves without restriction in a series of free-dance choreographies. The campaign is an ode to movement and its cathartic power which allows the expression of the self and of personal creative potential. Through the experience of the body, dance helps to clear the mind and recover our vital energy. The brand team explains, "We favour vibrant, thought-provoking imagery that revolves around one thematic. With our sense of pop optimism, we poke sympathetic 'we're-all-in-this-together' fun in order to drive our essential green message home." They are pursuing a radical sustainability objective: to prove that green labels can offer creative, cutting-edge solutions. 'Junk' is synonymous with eyewear made from recycled materials, objects made entirely from a process of 'plastic rehabilitation', a production method that breathes new life into waste materials, upcycling and embellishing them before re-launching them into the marketplace as accessories with a strong visual identity. 

If you've never been to Brazil, and more precisely to the Serra do Mar region, home to the highly biodiverse ecosystem that is the Atlantic Forest, then the Lapima brand might stir you to travel there - even if only in your mind. Lapima's new collection for S/S 2023 is inspired entirely by a place "to be preserved in the world and in the soul." In the words of Brazilian singer-songwriter Céu: "Rest your eyes. As far as the eye can see. As far as the dream can take you"; Lapima takes us into this real, but hard-to-explore, world, with a series of frames animated by a plethora of soft colours and sinuous shapes that faithfully reproduce the powerful manifestations of luxuriant nature: wet leaves, dewdrops, Ipê or Manacà-da-Serra flowers and ominous rainclouds. If with Lapima the eyes look away from everyday reality to become lost in enrapturing nature, Izipizi brings the daydream into everyday life, extending this magical feeling to all hours of the day. The just-launched collection, fittingly called 'Daydream', is an ode to letting go, to releasing your emotions. In response to the motto 'Never stop dreaming!', the models play on the subtle line between perception and imagination. The new transparencies of the frames meet, for the first time, a full-shine finish. Opacity becomes bright, while colours are ethereal and evocative: delicate purple, waxed ivory, relaxing green and piquant red. "Venturing into the field of emotions, Daydream wants to surprise and impress, taking you to another, intangible place. Isn't that the task of dreams?"