2012

The Luxury Tour

8th June 2012

Sama Designer Sheila Vance Discusses Luxury

8th June 2012 Eyewear designer Sheila Vance at SAMA Eyewear in California shares with Eyestylist her views on Luxury.

How do you define Luxury? Luxury is a state of mind, a way of seeing, understanding and interacting with the world around us. Though it may seem counterintuitive, luxury – like faith – is an incredibly egalitarian concept. As a result, we can all enjoy the luxury lifestyle! In the material realm, luxury can be distilled into equal parts quality, style and exclusivity. If a product lacks any of these elements or their presence is out of balance, then it lacks authenticity and can’t be classified as luxury. Though there are numerous designer brands masquerading as luxury brands; the sad truth is that there are fewer and fewer true luxury brands in the world with every passing year.

What elements are most important when designing Luxury eyewear? Eyewear is unique amongst fashion accessories in that it must combine the style of haute couture with the precision of a medical appliance. Merging fashion with such a high degree of functionality presents unique challenges that can only be met by a master eyewear designer.

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SILMO Paris - The Optical Fair. 25th - 28th September 2026

What inspires you to create eyewear? I find inspiration everywhere: nature, art, fashion, history. I also travel frequently and find seeing new places and meeting new people incredibly inspiring. Once after returning home from a particularly breathtaking trip to Egypt, I was so inspired that I designed my ultra-luxurious Sahara collection based on the experience! I love listening to music and find that it helps put me in a creative place. My taste is eclectic and includes everything from classical and opera to contemporary electronica. I’m also inspired by fine art and love visiting museums. I’m awed by Monet’s use of colour, Picasso’s use of form and shape, and Rembrandt’s use of light. Architecture is another of my many passions.

SAMA Chantal_Olv — Elegant pearl 'Chantal' by Shelia Vance for SAMA

Do you have any special ‘luxuries’ that you like/enjoy/cannot live without? I love beauty and grace in their myriad forms. (more…)

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Luxury Alert: Tom Ford

6th June 2012

Special Edition Eyewear from Design Master

6th June 2012 Subtly luxurious and crafted with meticulous workmanship, Tom Ford’s new, exclusive collection merges gentle retro 1950’s influences with contemporary design and technology. Finest quality gold-plated metal meets precious water buffalo horn in a frame of lasting elegance and refinement. Each frame and its leather case is presented in a beautiful Bakelite box ( a chic 1950’s touch) with a soft brown lining. With every frame is included a certificate of authenticity, and a special cleansing cream and chamois cloth to provide the correct care for the water buffalo horn. A true Renaissance man, Tom Ford knows that the highest level of design is all in the details. www.tomford.com JG

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Trend watch: Luxury lenses

5th June 2012

5th June 2012 Sun lenses vary in quality and it is absolutely essential to check what you are buying if you want to be sure that your eyes are getting proper UV protection. For a really exceptional lens with a good-looking, hand-finished luxury frame, these new designs from L.G.R. would take a lot of beating.

Nairobi - Crystal matt yellow - Polarized green mirrored F — Nairobi by L.G.R. Sunglasses - polarized green mirror

The mirrored lenses are part of L.G.R.’s Polarized Neophan series and they come in soothing shades of green, red and blue. Made of tempered mineral glass by the renowned Italian lens specialist Barberini, these photochromic lenses offer IR (infrared) and 100% UV protection, are anti-scratch and impact resistant, and have an oleo and hydrophobic protective coating (extra built-in water and oil protection). From the fashion viewpoint, the mirrored effect is very, very desirable at the moment; this interpretation is one that I like particularly as they are chic as opposed to flashy. Super, super collection for summer 2012. www.lgr-sunglasses.com CN

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Trend watch: Bauhaus

2nd June 2012

2nd June 2012 We continue to seek out the most elegant on-trend vintage pieces at Eyestylist.com, and with this in mind we are pleased to show this Bauhaus inspired sunglass design (below), available through Roger Pope and Partners in London, who have been involved in sourcing a selection of vintage eyewear styles for their shop in New Cavendish Street. Priced from £195, the vintage Bauhaus styles come in black, havana or miel, with a choice of lens tints, and can be fitted with personal prescriptions.

Some of the styles sourced in Paris are also now exclusively available at the Barbican shop while the Bauhaus: Art is Life exhibition is underway there. This exhibition is one of the biggest celebrations of Bauhaus in the UK for over 40 years and explores the diverse artistic production that made up its 14 year history in the aftermath of the First World War, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, theatre and other disciplines.

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www.barbican.org.uk www.rogerpope.co.uk CN

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Henrik Ørgreen

1st June 2012

The world of Ørgreen Optics

1st June 2012 Henrik Ørgreen is one of the most enthusiastic designers I have come across in the world of eyewear. When I first met him in 2001 – the company was just 4 years old – he was as committed as anyone could be to create something different and fresh – and definitely provocative – in eyewear design. Today, celebrating 15 years, Ørgreen Optics has become one of the leading innovators in creative spectacle and sunglass design.

“Since we started, the company has gradually grown up, matured if you like. Today, we pride ourselves on our design and the finish and quality….but we still retain our original hunger for new designs, innovation, colour concepts and colour and material combinations. We have become more professional, but we still have the edge and attitude from when we started.”

The design team today includes Henrik, Tobias Wandrup the chief designer, as well as Gregers Fastrup, sales director and joint owner, Olivia, assistant designer, and Sahra Lysell, a specialist in colour.

Asked to describe some of the traits of the S/S 12 collections Henrik explains: “This year we have focused on many details in the collections. We have new features like different hinges, and new colour, and we always like to keep ahead of the market in this area, it is definitely one of our unique characteristics. A lot of the designs are fashion focused…we are always looking at interesting ways to interpret fashion trends in titanium, which is our favourite material. Ørgreen is very good at making eyewear that is visible, and that is a strong message in the collections in this, our 15^th year. Then, coming up we have a few new lines to celebrate our Anniversary, you will see we have played with new materials…and, very exciting, we have a remake of our first original sunglass.”

Is Ørgreen for all personalities? “I believe people who wear Ørgreen are well educated, they like design and colours in fashion, they will be very appreciative of the quality of the finish too. I still also believe that it depends on what the optician recommends, though; there are plenty of people who will appreciate our frames without having a great awareness of what it actually is, and the work that has gone in to it.”

Is comfort important? “I do not believe in designing a frame that does not feel comfortable and I suppose when I first started designing I was concentrating more on the frame looking good. Today comfort is an area we are always working on.

Are your Danish roots significant? “Yes of course. The Danish design tradition advocates simplicity and where we are working with technical elements our instinct is to hide it or make it invisible. This is different in other design disciplines in other countries where technical features are visible. We are very proud to be part of the Danish design tradition, and there has been a great deal of focus on Copenhagen in the last years which is fantastic. But we are also accustomed to look outside our own country and heritage, and I think this is important for the recognition of our brand beyond home. I am very influenced by industrial design trends in other countries like Italy and Japan.”

What are your favourite things about working with eyewear? “Seeing the creation of a design…this is what I live and breathe for. I am always anticipating what people will like about it. We’re doing this, at the end of the day, to make people happy.

A suggestion for buying spectacles? “Always find a frame that fits your face. So often I see people wearing frames that do not fit. So look at the frames, try them on, make sure they are not too wide or too high, and not too angled…and make sure you try different materials. Never be afraid to change and try a new direction, which is often easy, if you make sure you are with someone in the shop who can offer some good guidance and ideas of what works for you.” CN