Warm red wine tones, natural eggplant and deep bordeaux have returned to eyewear for the winter season. This flattering array of hues are an elegant lift for winter complexions and cold weather wardrobes, and an easy accompaniment to work or formal attire – and will spruce things up for everyday. Above: Falvin Eyewear, model Equator in matt amethyst with precious rose gold detail. An all-rounder (for work and weekends) where the purple amethyst colour looks beautiful with a touch of gold. An excellent accompaniment to gold jewellery and accessories. www.falvineyewear.com
Kirk and Kirk Centena – model Miriam
Style Miriam, in Bordeaux, is a newly released frame from the British brand Kirk & Kirk; made in France it is produced in an acrylic material with a translucent quality that catches the light. The frame has been bevelled or “sculpted” on the edges which gives it a notable artisan finish. Find out more about the Centena collection by Jason and Karen Kirk at www.kirkandkirk.com
Wisdom by Caroline Abram
Parisian designer Caroline Abram combines colours in her new bold, feminine collection for winter, which highlights burgundy tones and chic shades of pink, adding hints of indigo, dark ruby and bright raspberry or fuchsia. For ophthalmic model Wisdom, the choices include burgundy/marsala (above) and indigo/purple, with the second colour in the pairing outlining the frame shape and providing definition at the brow. www.carolineabram.com
Lara D – model Kristel – black/bordeaux
Italian eyewear designer Lara D’Alpaos is also creative in her combinations of colours and layering effects. In the new model Kristel from the Unique Collection at Lara D’, she matches black with deep bordeaux as a couture trim on a sumptuous statement cat’s eye that plays with art nouveau shapes and blocked 3d acetate. Find out more at www.laradeyewear.com
British brands highlighted: Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses, the iconic eyewear company, founded in 1926 and Covrt Project, a streetwear label launched in 2019.
In a London style focus by Eyestylist, we brought together two of the city’s finest street photographers with two British brands that define quality, individuality and eyewear attitude. Above: photographer @boyfromdagbon wears style Winston by Claire Goldsmith at Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses. https://www.olivergoldsmith.com/product/winston/Photography by David Nyanzi (@davidnyanzi) for Eyestylist.com
The new Gopas Winter Sun by Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses – @boyfromdagbon photographed by @davidnyanzi
Model Gopas by Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses is ideal for winter light conditions with lightly tinted sun lenses which remove the brightness of interior light or glare from the sun on a winter’s day. The style is derived from an aviator with a flattened top and angular silhouette. For further details or to buy direct: https://www.olivergoldsmith.com/product/gopas/
Covrt Project’s MP4 from the _Mission One Sunglasses Collection defines this new brand’s ambition to balance innovation and a different design style with cutting-edge quality. MP4 is a hexagonal sunglass with a notable high double bridge and acetate bar. The design has undergone fine machine work to create the bridge and detailing and offers high-level functionality and comfort. This new label’s sunwear and accessories have launched at www.covrtproject.comCN
There’s something about eyewear chains that has captured our attention over the last few years. Big brands and independent designers have re-worked their look in nice materials, and with jewellery details and decorative concepts that have turned them into a desirable must-have statement. Above: Brand new from Oriss London: Spaghetti chain in light Tokyo tortoise made from a biodegradable bio-acetate material
Eyestylist recommendation: the Spaghetti Chain in light Tokyo tortoise, light and beautiful to wear
At Orris London, the chic styling of the chains goes hand in hand with a focus on sustainable design and biodegradable materials. Their two chic new styles – previewed at Premiere Classe in Paris in September – are made of bio-acetate, comprising wood pulp and cotton fibre; the Chunky Chain possesses luxuriously oversized links, while the Spaghetti Glasses Chain is defined by a super-sleek silhouette and a completely new concept in styling – one of our personal favourites of the season.
Bio-acetate: Chunky chain by Orris London
About Orris London / Founder Tara Shen created Orris London after enjoying a career in fashion in Shanghai. A London College of Fashion graduate, Tara’s frequent travels in Europe and Asia inspired her to create beautiful, everyday accessories for modern living, work and travel.
As well as new bio-acetate chain styles, Orris London is committed to using recycled paper instead of virgin paper for stationary and wrapping tissues, as well as unbleached cotton for gift pouches. “We are always looking for ways to improve our eco footprint, and will continue to research new materials and technology for a more sustainable future,” says founder Tara Shen.
Orris London Chains are available at Liberty of London, Le Bon Marché in Paris, and online at www.orris.co.ukCN
It really never went away. But with the resurgence in influences from the 1980s, 90s + 00s, a return of punk, grunge and gothic nuances, and the reemergence of specific iconic items from those decades including the classic black Dr Martens first created in the 1960s, consistently returning as a style piece, black eyewear is on cue to do particularly well in the next weeks and months, in many forms and with the quirkier of statements.
Part and parcel of the genre are the 1990s inspired narrow retro mask sunglasses, much hyped but always evolving thanks to some of the most creative designers in the eyewear business. Above: 90s style reimagined by Factory 900, Japan: model FA-380. Made in Fukui. For details: www.factory900.jp
A monochrome statement – restyling the cat’s eye: Saturn by Essedue, Italy
At Italian artisan label Essedue the inspiration is on the 80s with a nod to David Bowie and a chic “on point” style. Model Saturn, from the PRIMA line, has a strong round lens shape with pointed outer line in black, underscored with a white lower rim. Find out more at https://www.esseduesunglasses.com/product/saturn/
Mykita x Maison Margiela MMRAW016
Made of unpolished acetate, model MMRAW016 – in the Mykita x Maison Margiela collection comes in a Raw Black Havana with Black – illustrating that all types of finish and coloration based on black make up part of the season’s new looks. The panto-shaped optical frame with a raised bar highlights visible traces of the milling process, making each model slightly different from another. For more information: www.mykita.com
We have selected a few examples of the black styles now available for A/W 19/00. For more inspiration visit our Instagram page @eyestylistmagazine.
At an impromptu meet in Paris, surrounded by luxury chain designs, more akin to jewellery than most collections we’ve come across, film director Jenny Suen tells me she found her first vintage eyewear chain at a flea market in Paris. She has worn it ever since as part of her signature look. “Over the years, so many people asked me where they could buy one,” she explains. “It occurred to me that there were no chains produced in fine materials or designed with the modern woman in mind. So when I finished my last movie, I decided to create my own.” Above: model wearing Coco (18K gold plated with freshwater pearls)
Launched this year, the debut collection is made with 18-carat gold and freshwater pearls, a tribute to the filmmaker’s/designer’s hometown of Hong Kong, a city known as “Pearl of the East.” Offering sleek lines evoking the city’s iconic skyscrapers, and a romantic modern feminine design, the three launch pieces are named after women for whom Suen has special admiration: Marguerite (Duras), Coco (Chanel), and Faye (Wong).
Lien Atelier chains
“Long associated with secretaries, forgetful grandmas, and stuffy librarians, Lien re- imagines the eyewear chain for the modern woman. Once a practical tool to keep optical glasses and sunglasses from the lost and found, the eyewear chain is now a statement-making piece of jewellery for visionaries who imagine, travel, and create….”
Lien Atelier is stocked at Kite Shoreditch (UK), Marc Le Bihan (France) and Kapok Sun Street (Hong Kong). The name “Lien” means “link” in French and Chinese.
About the founder: Jenny Suen is a Hong Kong director. She wrote, produced, and co-directed The White Girl with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle. The film stars Joe Odagiri and Angela Yuen in a tropical-noir love story set in the last fishing village of Hong Kong. It screened at festivals worldwide, including a world premiere at at the BFI London Film Festival, was nominated for a NETPAC award at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, and had a special premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival, where it was lauded as an “accomplished first feature from Suen, [heralding] the coming of a new director with the potential to add truly unique offerings to the Hong Kong film canon.” Suen also produced Hong Kong Trilogy, a portrait of the city’s residents in childhood, youth, and old age, which was directed by Doyle. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. Her next film will be a widely-anticipated Chinese remake of Vera Chytilova’s 1968 Czech New Wave masterpiece Daisies. For more details visit www.lienatelier.comCN
The popular annual eyewear fair Hall of Frames (Zurich, Switzerland) has issued imagery from its new season shoot which took place on site at Papiersaal over a sunny weekend in September. The frames featured include a mix of advanced materials, from lightweight titanium to 3d printed designs, with state-of-the-art details, classically inspired shapes and interesting finishes and treatments. Above: Ørgreen Optics Coeda 964, produced in 100% pure titanium and beta-titanium. www.orgreenoptics.com Photography by Nina-Maria Glahé
Funk eyewear model Authari Raw in a crystal finish / Photography by Nina-Maria Glahé
Dieter Funk’s acetate frames, produced in Bavaria, Germany, lean toward classic or timeless design principles, with modern updates taking the form of special colorations and material/tonal combinations. For more details: www.funkbrillen.com
Coblens: Endlos 7 rimless design
The Endlos series by Gmerna-based company Coblens combines titanium temples with modern rimless fronts; the frame front and sides are attached to the lenses with small antique inspired screws with a hexagonal shape. www.coblens.com
Ørgreen Optics: less-is-more in the Quantum collection
Quantum spectacles have an outstanding spherical hinge design and light construction in 3D printed polyamide. The innovative choice of subtle and bright colours is one of many highlights of the Danish brand’s eyewear expertise. www.orgreenoptics.com / Photography by Nina-Maria Glahé for Hall of Frames:https://www.ninamariaglahe.com/All rights reserved.
The next edition of Hall of Frames will take place on 13th and 14th September 2020. For more details, visitwww.hallofframes.chCN
The metal frames of the moment are a sign that 2020 will be another good one for a more minimal style in eyewear. In Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks, the coolest metal frames worn out on the street were neither mini nor oversized, fitting the face to perfection with interesting shapes, angled or geometric forms (octagons and hexagons) in metal tones, and particularly shiny steel, gun and black. Above: fashion influencer Megan Adelaide Schaefer in a black metal frame photographed at Paris Fashion Week by Gennaro D’Elia for Eyestylist.com.
Optical chic: MMCRAFT011 by MYKITA + MAISON MARGIELA: a precious engraving is just visible to the naked eye on the bridge and temples
Very, very narrow rimmed frames – whether sun or optical, as above at Mykita, deliver a sharp yet simple style softened with the subtle vintage inspired engraving, in a successful blend of nostalgic and futuristic elements. www.mykita.com
Milan Fashion Week: stunning 3-sided metal rim frame
Clean, pared back designs with dark grey or black lens for sunglasses provide streamlined modes that are visual but less showy that in previous seasons with attention paid to craftsmanship and finesse for a simple unembellished but elegant way of dressing.
Monarch by L.G.R: a metal front with a striking cat eye form
Cat eye inspired metal shapes, such as Monarch by L.G.R (www.lgrworld.com), are contemporary and striking, balancing glamour and a feminine identity in the shape; the colours of the Monarch are in line with the minimal mood and include matt copper (above) matt black and grey with flat zero base sun lenses made from mineral glass for 100% UV protection and comfort. For more on trending styles, visit https://www.eyestylist.com/2019/10/paris-fashion-week-ss20/CN
Creative energies are running particularly high at theo this year, in preparation for 2020. SILMO saw an ingenious spread of collections, among them a fresh collaborative series – the third of its kind for theo – with designer Matali Crasset. ‘Dialogues’ explores conversation and chat, with focus on the two eyewear basics – the lens and whatever goes around it; how the two interact together or relate beyond the classic ‘glasses’ form becomes a feature and a “talking point” – without constraint in the construction or the technical finesse (of course!). Above: Model Debate, in fluo pink, by theo X Matali Crasset
“The shape of the lenses is radically different from what Matali has created before” theo eyewear
Expressive, comfortable, surprisingly easy to wear. The result is six titanium styles with Crasset’s “signature” which bring a unique focus to the eyes of the wearer. Single colours emphasise the drama of the openwork and “floating effects”, exploring a bold vision, in theo style – with exquisite tones of fluo pink and orange through to sophisticated monochrome black or white – the two colours that Crasset wears herself.
Dialogues by theo X Matali Crasset was launched in Paris in September 2019; the frames will shortly become available in theo opticians worldwide. The collaborators have simultaneously launched ‘Blurred’, an even more ‘rebellious’ limited edition related to the Dialogues designs and created solely in black and white.
Matali Crasset is an industrial designer from France. She has become known for a refusal of pure shape in her work and develops new typologies articulated around principles such as modularity, appropriation, and flexibility. She has worked on far-reaching projects in different disciplines and with leading brands including Alessi, Nodus and Le Buisson. For more information visitwww.theo.be / www.matalicrasset.comCN
Silmo is a key event in the optical fair calendar where we discover innovations, new directions and trends in eyewear for the season ahead. This year, the breadth of creative proposals was significant, and attendance by independent labels showed a strong movement toward individual design, high level production and experimental work and expertise in colour, materials and eco-oriented design.
At Silmo, Tavat Eyewear showed their new avant-garde SpamCan Collection, the next step on from SoupCan, inspired by the quadratical shape of the iconic spam can or tin. Made from an impressive material composed of bronze, zinc and nickel, this new departure is highly technical and elaborate, with 27 components and a hinge based on the high-precision Swiss watch crown mechanism. The sunglasses are fitted with melanin sunglass lenses. Find out more at www.tavat-eyewear.com
Metamorphosis by You Mawo
You Mawo’s showpieces at Silmo included the Metamorphosis 3D printed Limited series and a visor design (above) with futuristic 3D side pieces. The main line has also expanded with some strong fashion shapes (cateye model Lyra) and a beautiful round design called Selene. www.youmawo.com
SUSTAIN by Monoqool
Monoqool launched the SUSTAIN sunglasses, a first 3d printed design made from castor beans farmed sustainably in India through the Pragati Initiative (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHe1N43IN8o ). The company has entered the Sustain programme supported by the AM-Hub organisation in Denmark with the goal of helping a selected number of small/medium size Danish companies to develop sustainable manufacturing via 3D print technology. www.monoqool.com
Passion for purple at Kirk & Kirk
Kirk & Kirk have done much to promote the benefits of colourful eyewear proposals from the UK, and continue to put out glorious colorations, in both their Centena and Kaleidscope collections, with emphasis on new tones of blue, pink and mauve. www.kirkandkirk.com
The Skyline collection at ROLF Spectacles is exceptional in its avantgarde designs in 3D printed titanium. The new styles have stunning combinations of smooth and textured ‘volcanic-like’ surfaces as well as offering a lightweight, easy-to-wear eyewear solution – putting this line in a category of its own. Image above: Photographer: Clemens Ascher http://www.clemensascher.com and clothes by Mühlmann https://www.muehlmann.eu For more information about ROLF, visit www.rolfspectacles.com
VAERK no 104 in Champagne
New brands were plentiful at Silmo, the best ones focusing on advanced technology and technical know-how. VAERK Copenhagen puts the emphasis on beautiful engineering, tech and Danish design traditions. In collaboration with the renowned Danish industrial design duo Harrit-Sørensen, this brand has developed an innovative hinge concept that not only constitutes high level precision but also an aesthetically appealing link between the frame front and temple. www.vaerkcopenhagen.com
Covrt Project: high-tech urban design / made in Italy
In a completely different departure for street style aficionados, London-based designer and creative director Marcello Martino launched Covrt Project in the “start-up” area of the Silmo fair. This bold Italian made collection includes 7 sunglass styles with advanced tech features focused on enhanced comfort, durability and individual design. The collection is accompanied by unique accessories: find out more at https://covrtproject.com.
SILMO Paris will take place from 2nd to 5th October 2020 at Paris Nord Villepinte. For more information visitwww.silmoparis.com Eyestylist will report on more trends and new updates following SILMO Paris in the weeks ahead. This feature was written by Clodagh Norton. Please seek permission for reprints. All rights reserved.
Ti Kwa’s avant-garde eyewear label Rigards always has something special to show at Paris Fashion Week and SILMO at this time of year – and for 2019 it’s a very special cat eye inspired by nature.
Collaborating with UJOH, Mitsuru Nishizaki’s award-winning womenswear line, model RG0123UJOH+ builds upon the traditional winged silhouette, with its upswept double rims, one made of ultralight aluminum-magnesium and the other of surgical-steel. The semi-stacked construction and negative-space cut away creates an illusion that the inner rims are floating over the face.
The frame’s aesthetic pays special homage to dragonflies and damselflies, insects which the designer has studied with a keen eye. Despite their simple origin from “incomplete” metamorphoses and fragile wings of gossamer, they have come to symbolize beauty, ferocity, and purity of habitat, in almost every part of the world.
A second model – RG0123UJOH – was created alongside this masterpiece. This style is described as “a little more subtle” without the statement-making cut-out (and thus the colour contrast), yet still offering a resolutely distinctive and individual alternative for the less-audacious wearer.
Both styles are released in six colours, one of the highlights of which is Red—nicknamed ‘Akatombo’ (Red Dragonfly), a nod to the iconic creatures of Japanese nostalgia and song. Find out more by visiting Rigards at SILMO or Paris Fashion Week, or go to www.rigards.com – for previous features on Rigards via Eyestylist visit https://www.eyestylist.com/2019/08/the-viridi-anne-x-rigards-glasses-with-clip/ CN
Forty years ago this month, Gai Gherardi and Barbara McReynolds opened an optical shop on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles – l.a. Eyeworks. Four decades later, the pioneering efforts and energy of Gherardi and McReynolds have catapulted l.a. Eyeworks into an international and influential house of eyewear design.
l.a. Eyeworks 40th anniversary placard designed by artist Nina Palomba
The anniversary year kicks off with a window campaign that will adorn the facades of more than eighty optical retailers in seven countries. Two signboards feature custom graphic designs with the messages: ‘Raise your Glasses’ and ‘Uncensored Visions since 1979’ floating above the brand’s logo. Created by L.A. based artist Nina Palomba, the design is one of numerous multidisciplinary artists and inspiring personalities with whom l.a. Eyeworks has partnered for creative marketing and photos during forty years. For the Fall 2019 portrait campaign, l.a. Eyeworks is working with three visionary photographers who will creatively express Gherardi and McReynolds’s philosophy, cementing their inspiration: “the ever-changing diverse landscape of faces.” Among the brands most famous catchphrases is: ‘A face is like a work of art. It deserves a great frame.’
Portrait styled by Shirley Kurata and photographed by Mimi Haddon
In all their eyewear designs, Gherardi and McReynolds display an innate passion for colour and shape, which has enamoured opticians worldwide throughout the years. Deirdre McNally at Optica Dublin noted: “We truly admire and have fallen in love all over again with l.a. Eyeworks. They have a magic to understand eyewear.” The l.a. Eyeworks innovative magic continues to expand with exemplary designs that manifest originality, diligence and dedication, as well as passion and perseverance, that the founders have infused into their iconic brand. Congratulations to l.a. Eyeworks on this memorable occasion of their 40th Anniversary. www.laeyeworks.com JG
With just 3 days to go before the big event in Paris, designers look forward to unveiling creative designs for the forthcoming season, with graphic presentations and valuable insights into the evolution of their collections and brand stories. Silmo Paris brings together an extraordinarily wide-ranging selection of companies related to the optical field, and for those who visit as buyers, an inspirational and diverse choice of design-focused eyewear from which to select for their customers.
Newcomers’ ranges are much sought after at the fair as are the independent collections with innovative flair and precise design motivations. Alf Lunettes – from France – exhibiting for the second time, will launch a carefully presented line of handmade sunglasses and optical frames which are made in Normandy in exclusive Japanese acetates. They add beautiful, comfortable mineral photochromic lenses “to make a highly technical product” and create a universe inspired by the elegance of the 1920s through to the ’50s, anchored by a precise and heart-felt respect for quality and clean, sober lines. https://lunettes-alf.com
Ynot : Oliver Goldsmith Wintersun
‘Wintersun’ was originally devised by Oliver Goldsmith back in 1965 and was a collection intended to be worn ‘during the winter months’ or through the months when dark-lensed sunglasses were not needed. The collection showcases some of the most historic shapes of the famous Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses collection such as the much favored Ynot (above), round chic Oops and the multi-sided Yatton sunglasses. www.olivergoldsmith.com
New frame Fado by LAFONT Paris: “40 years of Lafont, 40 years of colour”
The historic family eyewear company, Lafont Paris celebrates its 40th birthday at Silmo this year. A special 40th anniversary collector’s edition box will feature iconic frames from the Lafont Archives, reimagined in a contemporary context. A nod to the 1980s, the decade when the company started will include new interpretations of the classic “Lafont” P3 and elegant cat-eyes with chic Parisian flair. A must-see at the Paris fair this year. www.lafont.com
MOREL 80027A feature Divel sun lenses with a golden internal non-reflective coating
French eyewear company Morel inaugurates an eponymous new collection of sunglasses which brings together a design that is both aesthetic and engineered, in complementary styles. A sneak peak of MOREL 80027A sums up the chic and super trendy flavour. www.morel-france.com
SILMO – the international eyewear and optics fair – takes place from 27th to 30th September 2019 in Paris, at Paris Nord Villepinte. For further details visit www.silmoparis.com. SILMO is a trade only event.
