Boutiques

11th May 2012 The Sunglasses Salon in Liberty’s was updated last year, and now features around 600 sunglasses, from 24 luxurious brands, many of our favourites! I am always popping in for inspiration and love the superbly curated selection. It’s one of the best places in central London if you want to pick up an utterly desirable design…. from Moscot to Lasry, a-Morir and Cutler & Gross to the Linda Farrow ranges, there are classics as well as trendy-focused designs for Spring/Summer ’12.

Pepper Retro Lucia, exclusively for Liberty's

Chic Liberty print sunglasses are also on display, part of a collaboration with RetroSuperFuture, the trendy Italian sunglasses label. I like the Retro Lucia design in Pepper Liberty Print, which features quality Zeiss lenses for proper protection from UV rays. Available on the web at £130.00, www.liberty.co.uk CN

25th April 2012 Barcelona is one place I know like the back of my hand. But that was in the 1990s, and these days stores and bars and boutiques there are changing all the time…for vintage, my first stop today would be Wilde Store (www.wildestore.com), a very cool little place (there are two branches) to find quality vintage frames, from brands like Cazal, Persol, Lacoste and Silhouette, from the 1950s through to the 90s. The frames have been sourced across the world over several years. I have found them by chance through my brother, and I’m delighted to see what they are doing.

As well as its vintage frames, Wilde is also dedicated to the handcrafting trend…the store is launching its own sunglasses label this season, made on the premises by Carlos Azuaje and colleague Tepo, who have a passion for the artisanal qualities of traditional eyewear. Carlos explains, “The first Wilde Sunglasses collection is made by hand from Mazzucchelli acetate with metal accents. We are revisiting the old techniques of the 1950s, and producing in very small quantities per colour. All our work is done exclusively in our workshop in Barcelona, we are making our ideas a reality!”

As if this were not enough, the store has also created WSkin by Wilde, handmade felt and leather cases and covers (for iPhones, iPads and eyewear)  made with love and attention to detail. Their videos of the work they put in are superb, I’m a fan! CN www.wildeskin.com/showcase/index.php/fabricacion

Wilde Store, Barcelona

Oscar in Grey, by Wilde Sunglasses (Euros 150)

Wilde Store, c/Joaquin Costa, 2, Barcelona 08001, Spain

Wilde Store, c/ Avinyo, 21 Barcelona, 08002, Spain

http://wildestore.com/

An Italian eyewear adventure

1st March 2012 L’Osservatorio is a must-see for anyone who loves good frames….there are branches in Milan, Finale Ligure, Alassio and Mondovi (pictured above)…of which we have been to the Milan store and warmly recommend it to anyone going to Mido next week. We spoke to Alfio, director at the Milan branch.

“The Milan shop (Corso Porta Ticinese 83), like our other three stores, was designed by the architect Andrea Meirana. The overall design is inspired by Donal Judd, one of the most significant American artists associated with Minimalism. The concept of the shop is not simply to present a window display showing objects, but rather a “lieu” that treasures and protects the unique qualities of the products it presents. The frames are treated as works of art, and that is why they are placed on glass shelves or special fabrics…in a setting that recalls a jewellery display.”

The Milan shop, like our other two stores, stock very exclusive eyewear lines, including Frency & Mercury, Theo, Mykita, Linda Farrow and collaborations, Lunor, Reiz and Retrospecs, among others.

According to owner of the stores, Gabriele Evangelisti: “My philosophy is that the choice of a pair of glasses in our shops does not end with the purchase, the important story that lies behind each object continues even beyond the contact between the frame and the person who chooses it. The frame becomes a part of the personality of the person wearing it, a distinctive mark, an emotion…My dream is to always have more customers that share my passion for eyewear.”

Does the Italian public have an interest in more unusual brands? “We get a very positive response. The mentality in Italy is that many people are conditioned by famous brands. This is mainly because many of the world famous fashion brands are Italian. In the last year the trends have changed and people now are less keen to spend money only for a brand, they look more and more for the quality of a product. Customers today are also more interested in distinguishing themselves from others and looking more original.

Mondovi store interior

(more…)

1st January 2012 Opened in April 2011, Klar has been mentioned and recommended to Eyestylist on a number of occasions in the last months. The shop is, for me, representative of a new wave of independent eyewear shops in Europe, run by opticians who are passionate about the collections they sell, choosing handcrafted collections and small labels to propose to their customers.

Owner of Klar (meaning “clear” in German) Akram Husseini explains how he came to set up the shop: “Darmstadt is my hometown with about 150,000 citizens, just near Frankfurt. I have worked for 14 years as an optician, but it was my dream to have a small independent shop with a selection of frames from all over the world.”

These include, at present, Lunettes Kollektion, L.G.R., Robert La Roche, Kilsgaard, Oliver Goldsmith, Graz, 141 Eyewear, Garrett Leight, Reiz, and the silver aviator with grey lenses and gold aviator with green lenses (very specifically) by military frame specialists, Randolph Engineering.

“The store is like a vintage living room with a warm atmosphere. We reconstructed the whole interior, to create a shop that moves away from the traditional stark and cold optical environment. I chose furniture and a living space that is a reflection of my own taste. I like Danish classics such as Wegner, Juhl and Jalk. The seats are from Grete Jalk (1961), and we have industrial German lighting from E.Bolich The floor is covered in old-school linoleum, which adds a vintage edge and is similar to that used in old-fashioned classrooms. We had a tie display unit from the 1950s converted to display some of the glasses. We designed table tennis racket mirrors which hang on the wall”.

Tennis table racket mirrors at Klar

What is your philosophy for how you select frames? “A frame should not disguise a person. A good collection will grow bit by bit …it has to develop slowly. I only buy brands which I really like because that is the best way to offer them to my customers. I prefer the small, independent labels which specialize in glasses. (more…)