Sunglasses with Velvet Effect treatment. Italia Independent was the first company in the world to introduce the velvet effect in eyewear, starting from a surface treatment already used in the automotive industry, called UV Lux ®. This innovation allowed the brand to affirm its notoriety and was fueled by continuous research on innovative and unconventional technologies that were later applied to its products. Prestigious brands that were initially skeptical about the use of this type of finish have recently attempted to imitate the effect that gave birth to the I-V product family. The velvet effect is achieved by aiming and projecting special natural fibers against surfaces coated with adhesive material. The energy required to aim, project and make the fibers penetrate the glue layer is provided by an electrostatic field generated between the dispenser and the surface to be coated. The Plus versions have an incremental effect; the bicolor versions, on the other hand, combine two different colors on the chassis surface, a technology that was awarded the year's best innovation by MIT Review Italy in May 2014.