One of the current acetate styles by the French label Beausoleil which majors in classic, timeless shapes in luxury materials. This style has a nice balanced two-tone front combination – the dark top colour emphasises the brow – and fine structure, giving a lighter less intensely retro look for the face. The style has a keyhole style nose shape, another look of the season that brings a masculine elegance to the overall design. www.beausoleil.fr CN
1st February 2013 As we are celebrating men’s eyewear this month, we have asked several designers to share with Eyestylist their ideas and concepts about designing for men. The series begins with Luca Gnecchi at L.G.R. in Italy.
Do you have a particular male role model in mind when you design men’s eyewear? “When I create eyewear and especially sunglasses, I think about my friends. I try to please them and fit into their lifestyle that we often share.”
What is your philosophy on colour, materials and eyewear shapes for men? “Men’s colours have to be more simple; typically darker and classic. I think that keeping the shape to the essential is important. But also offering technically superior lenses for different masculine uses such as sailing, driving and just knowing that you have a super good polarized mineral glass lens, I think makes a man happier. While a woman, yes, she likes it too, but she is more concerned about an original coloured frame, a gradient lens that makes her eyes seen – but not seen – the game of seduction……”
Do you think that men are becoming more experimental with their eyewear choices? “Yes, they are, they like to play with colour too, but keeping the combinations very separated and strong, with contrast. Like our sanded yellow frames with mirrored green lenses, or our Raw Limited edition in black opaque and mirrored deep blue lenses. Men also like to be noticed, but in a different way, not in the seductive, playful way of women, but in a strong precise taste for something unusual.”
“I am about to present a new Limited Edition for travelling. You will be able to choose your sunglasses especially to fit your light conditions on that particular trip. It’s something that takes into consideration adventure, heat, Africa, wlidlife, unstable light conditions, romance, beauty, escape and freedom.” www. lgr-sunglasses.com JG
1st February 2013 One of the leading spectacle stores in Lyon, Les Lunettes de Marius is run by school friends, Boris Vicard and Simon Lauzier. The first time I came across pictures of the shop I admired the thoughtful mix of furniture, from old and new, to retro and reclaimed. Their interior concept, the mix of labels – which include Claire Goldsmith, Isson, Lafont, L.G.R., Masunaga, and Vera Wang – and their use of the store as a gallery space are inspiring.
Simon explains: “The design of the store is by Colette De Jong. We were inspired by tea and living room. We wanted guests to feel at home in a convivial place to break the notion of time. Optical shops can have a very medical look and we wanted to break this reputation.”
“Our customers are varied, and mainly between 18 and 40 years. A large portion of our products are handmade in Europe or Japan and we rely on this to justify the quality, and its history. We have returned to a time in which the client needs to be reassured about the quality and origin of the product. We like to to discuss this over tea or coffee!”
Asked to comment on the new designers they are following, Boris says: “As well as many independent designers we work with, we also love Garrett Leight, and also Graz, and we had the opportunity to meet them in Paris last year.” They say they like to work with straightforward people “without headaches”, who are open to many things.
Art is an integral part of the shop. “We made done five exhibitions, and some openings. We are not an art gallery, and we do not want to be one. But it is interesting and original to display art in a glasses store, and we enjoy this with our friends and customers. We are very open and I think that is the strength of our business; it is our aim to be varied on many things. ‘The world is beautiful because it is varied.'” CN
Les Lunettes de Marius, 1 Rue Marius Gonin, 69005 LYON
Opening times: Tuesday-Saturday 9 to 20hrs; Sunday-Monday from 14 to 19hrs. www.leslunettesdemarius.com
1st February 2013 Lucas de Staël frames have always intrigued me – I’d seen the designs and liked the de Staël engineering concept, incorporating traditional frame making and fashion. So it was with pleasant anticipation that I made my way to de Staëls new workshop in the 19th arrondissement in Paris. Lucas was at the door to greet me, and I was escorted into a beehive of quiet activity where artisans craft the award-winning designs that Lucas so enjoys creating. His persona overflows with enthusiasm, passion and knowledge about frame making, and de Staël is involved in every step of each design and its production.
“Making fames like this takes a lot of time,” says de Staël, “and since we moved premises, there are fifteen people working here now. There is a lot of handwork involved in each frame – just one process can take up to an hour. Our team includes artists, engineers and architects. The main concept – and the main identification of our designs – is that there are no hinges; everything is in one piece. We make the parts inside our workshop, and use a special Swedish material that adds strength to our designs, without weight.”
In 2005, de Staël launched Undostrial – and in 2011 started his own collection – LDS – which won a Silmo d’Or in 2012. “The LDS collection is a more traditional range, with marquetry accents, plus goat skin and leather designs. We only use leather from the neck of the cow, so everything is supple and light.” Alexandre Lepeu designs the machines and tools that are used to create the frames. Lepeu and de Staël attended the School of Industrial Design in Paris, and met there as students. De Staël was fascinated with eyewear, and his first training with with Eye D’C in Marseille. “It was amazing,” recalls de Staël, “working right in front of the sea – it was so inspiring!”
With his recent Silmo d’Or award, and the vast new premises where the frames are all handmade with amazing design and construction ingenuity, de Staël is now ready to embrace the future. “We make only 4000 frames per year,” says de Staël, “we are a small producer, but now we are ready to grow. We are reaching world markets. Our best market is China; clients really like our designs. When I am quiet, I like to try different things. During the weekend and evenings I design, and work on new technical concepts. Creating the designs is even more interesting now!” www.undostrial.com www.lucasdestael.com JG