1st March 2014 His tall, lithe figure is silhouetted against Parisian landmark buildings – Eglise Saint Germain des Près, and Aux Deux Magots – the latter the favourite café of Jean-Paul Satre, Simone de Beauvoir and other literary luminaries. In his own metier, Jérémy is an eyewear designer of international acclaim. Paris is an inspriation for Tarian – The Left Bank being a favourite and familiar haunt, while The Marais is another source of energy and reference. Streets, buildings, and history all inspire his work. But so do travel, people, museums, nature, architecture – in fact – life itself.
We settle comfortably at Deux Magots, and over delicious coffee, Jérémy relates his eyewear odyssey. “I designed my first fame for myself, as ‘revenge’ because I needed to wear glasses from the age of eight.” However, his “revenge” evolved into a continuing unbridled passion for eyewear. He worked at ic! berlin for two years – where he won his first Silmo d’Or – before setting up his own business three years ago. In 2012 he captured his second Silmo d’Or – the eyewear equivalent of a Bafta or Oscar trophy – for his sunglass design Saintonge. Tarian’s sunglasses and optical frames can now be found in over 200 boutiques worldwide.
How does his design process work? “When I design, I really need to concentrate only on design, and I find this more and more necessary. I just cannot say ‘oh well, I’ll take an hour and design'”, explains Tarian. He also finds his master classes in eyewear design at HEAD (Geneva University of Art and Design/Switzerland) have a reflection in his work. “I find that working with the students opens me to new ideas. Glasses are not just a product, but also a personality on the face. I find that talking with the students, and listening to their stories, who are from all over the world, comes into my thinking.
Tarian draws each line, curve and detail of a frame design, and he says: “My designs now are very different from when I began five years ago. I focus more on comfort, and I can see how just one millimetre can change everything. Harmony is important – how the shape will fit on the face. I love working in acetate and metal, and there are so many things to explore with these two materials. For the collection in the autumn, we are experimenting with new textures, using these two elements.” The Tarian Collection is also eco-friendly, and only the finest quality acetate is used in his designs.
“For independent designers, it’s so important to keep independent in terms of product, and to explain the brand philosophy,” says Tarian. His original, unique and desirable frames contribute to making eyewear such an exciting accessory with creative design and style. www.jeremytarian.com JG