Reading Glasses, Reimagined: Looplabb's Max
Not every design story begins with heritage stretching back generations. Some begin with a simple, stubborn question: why should something so useful feel so uninspired? For Story 14 of our 25-year series, we turn to Looplabb - a brand built entirely around answering that question - and its unisex reading glasses, Max.
Looplabb became a DMI partner in 2024, bringing with it a refreshingly different energy to a category that, in its own words, had felt "dusty and dull" for far too long.
Turning a necessity into a want-to-have
Looplabb's starting point is refreshingly honest: reading glasses have long been treated as an emergency solution rather than something worth wanting. Looplabb set out to change that - not by overcomplicating the product, but by insisting that clear vision and genuine style don't need to be separate decisions.
The brand's philosophy is built on colour, confidence and quality, offered at a fair price and delivered with what they describe as "service with a smile." It's a simple idea, applied consistently: readers should brighten your day, not just correct your eyesight.
Editor's takeaway
Max represents Looplabb's whole philosophy in a single frame - proof that a practical necessity can become a genuinely joyful choice.
Meet Max
Max is Looplabb's unisex reading glasses, designed to suit a wide range of face shapes and sizes - part of a brand approach that deliberately avoids designing for one narrow customer in mind. Available in strengths from +1.00 to +3.00, with anti-scratch coated lenses, Max is built to handle daily wear without losing its finish or its personality.
What sets Max apart is colour. It's available in a striking 21 shades, drawn from Looplabb's core collection - a considered mix of classic bestsellers and bold, funky standouts. Looplabb calls the combination the "candy store effect"- the kind of colour range that turns a simple display into something people want to stop and browse.
Twenty-one colours. The candy store effect.
Max, in Crystal Champagne
Made to last, not just to look good
Behind the colour and character, Max is built with real care. Each pair is handmade, using a unique assembly method that secures every component and guarantee quality throughout. The frames are "whole-core-coloured" - a process that ensures the colour runs consistently through the frame itself, alongside an integrated soft coating that makes the glasses comfortable to wear and , notably, silent (no squeaking).
The screws and springs are made from double-hardened stainless steel, fully integrated into the frame and, as Looplabb puts it, virtually indestructible. The lenses are ultra-thin, optician-quality acrylic-light, clear, and finished with a scratch-resistant coating that keeps vision crisp even after years of daily wear. The entire collection carries TÜV certification, the highest quality assurance in the industry.
Even the small details are considered: each pair arrives in a felt pouch made from recycled wool, a simple, sustainable touch.
Ready or wherever the day takes you.
A brand that keeps things fresh
Looplabb works from a fixed core collection of models, strengths and colours, refreshed each year with new shades alongside the favourites customers keep coming back to. It's a considered approach to renewal - familiar enough to trust, varied enough to stay excited.
That same spirit runs through everything Looplabb makes: a genuine commitment to design, quality and transparency, paired with a belief that growing older - and needing a little help seeing up close - deserves to be celebrated, not hidden.
A lasting idea
Looplabb's Max is a reminder that even the most practical objects in our daily lives deserve real thought and real joy. A pair of reading glasses can still be something you reach for happily, not reluctantly - and that, more than any single design detail is what makes Max worth telling a story about.
Quick roudup
Partnership - Looplabb became a DMI partner in 2024.
The product - Max, Looplabb's unisex reading glasses.
Strengths - Available from +1.00 to +3.00, with anti-scratch coated lenses.
Craftsmanship - Handmade, with whole-core-coloured frames, stainless steel hardware and TÜV-certified acrylic lenses.
Colour - Available in 21 shades, refreshed yearly alongside classic bestsellers.
Continue the 25-year design story
Looplabb's Max is Story 14 of 25 - a bright, joyful chapter in a series that continues to explore the ideas, objects and partnerships shaping Design Mode International's story.
