22nd February 2012 The Danish company’s newest design features lightweight titanium, superbly crafted, that successfully merges aesthetics – functionality, technology, quality, beauty and style. This design, in particular, gives the wearer a feeling of confidence and well-being, with its classic form, interpreted with subtle modernity. The distinctive temple detail adds to the beauty and craftsmanship of the design. www.lindberg.com JG
21st February 2012 We are looking forward to this restrospective on the master shoemaker at London’s Design Museum in May (changed from a March opening just this week). Louboutin opened his first store in Paris in 1992, so this retrospective, the first in the UK, marks the label’s 20th birthday. Louboutin is staggeringly creative and a peep at the website will give you immediate insight into his incredible world of footwear (and bags galore)…and you’ll literally be kicking your heels to get in to this showcase!
In its exhibition, the Design Museum promises to explain the man behind this world renowned shoe empire, as well as exploring the full design processes used to make a pair of Louboutin shoes. Visit the website (it’s no ordinary one) and get into fabulous shoes at www.christianlouboutin.com CN
Image: Copyright, Photographer Phillippe Gracia from Christian Louboutin book published by Rizzoli.
Christian Louboutin, Design Museum, London, 1st May to 9th July 2012 www.designmuseum.org
21st February 2012 “There are definitely differences between designing eyewear for men and for women. Guya (my design partner) and I have always found it easier to create glasses for women, but I cannot forget that our best-selling model is a pair of glasses with a more masculine connotation. It’s not easy to design an original and outgoing shape for a man. I find more elements to work with when I think of a female style. Men are now more aware of fashion, brands and quality, including fitness or beauty products. In general, men are more attentive to their own global image, presentation or look – although I think men are less brand addicted than women.
Vintage has permeated fashion in all its aspects. Vintage, dandy, the beautiful and the damned, or Steve McQueen styles have always been sources of great inspiration in men’s styles. Traditional colours are still popular for men – black, brown, honey, Havana, but on the temples you can dare a little more with orange, red, blue and yellow. We’ve had success using double layer acetate – soft colour outside and fluorescent or bright inside. My favourite men’s designer is Paul Smith, but I’m quite conservative in clothing.” www.bluemagiceye.com JG
Photo of Ciro Tugnoli: Gilles Stüssi
20th February 2012 Are men more daring with colour now than in previous years? “Without a doubt. And just in case it’s still a secret: men are starving for colour! Particularly in the case of clothing, we have all been cast adrift in a sombre sea of brown, khaki and grey for soooo long. It’s always a challenge to find colour that truly excites. No surprise, then, that men are seizing upon glasses as a key component for exploring the potential not only of colour, but of pattern and proportion too.
Have you seen any specific changes in how men view wearing glasses during the past several years? “Absolutely. Glasses are out of the closet! More and more, I see men discovering eyewear as a way to project their sensibility and define a mood. There seems to be a renewed embrace of eyewear as a key aspect of wardrobing, and as a vital stamp of personality. Our clients often report on how the colour and graphic impression of their glasses have effected changes in what they wear, and how they see themselves. Barbara McReynolds (co-owner/co-designer of l.a. Eyeworks) has often said: ‘Glasses are the fashion. Clothes are the accessory”. In short, free your glasses and the rest will follow”.
Whom do you think are the male style icons nowadays? “To be honest, I hardly ever think of icons in the present. What interests me most is when any person – regardless of their fame, occupation or income – creates a style or signature completely their own; when a person achieves a kind of effortlessness and comfort in the transformation of their look”.
Who are your personal designer favourites for men’s clothing? “I always pay attention to what ‘the majors’ (Paul Smith, Christopher Bailey, Marc Jacobs, Rei Kawakubo, Kris van Assche, et al.) are thinking, but in my own selection, I veer towards smaller brands and more enigmatic items – like the amazing shoe designs of John Fluevog. I probably take most of the direction of what I want to wear from the world around me, be it a Japanese vinyl figure, a Technicolour film from the 50’s, some paste-up graffiti on an electrial box, or some obscure track I might hear late at night. In any case, the most compelling style is tuned from the inside out.” www.laeyeworks.com www.laeyeworks-wideworld.com JG
17th February 2012 Danish eyewear company Ørgreen has been included in an exhibition at the Danish Design Center, celebrating 10 years of Danish design, seen through the fashion magazine, Dansk (http://danskmagazine.com/). Arranged chronologically, the exhibition presents the development of Danish fashion from 2002 to the present. One of several brands highlighted, Orgreen showcases its unique model Viper in mat white. The exhibition runs from 27th January to 4th March 2012. For more information visit http://en.ddc.dk CN