May 2019

Re-Belle by Plein Les Mirettes France

Set the beaches sizzling when wearing elegantly sculpted Re-Belle by bespoke frame artisans Plein Les Mirettes. Crafted in Normandy in beautiful acetate with a lustrous sheen, Re-Belle is a symphony of sleek colours – navy silhouetted with accents of orange, white and sea foam, with a three-dimensional character. The unique colourations in Plein Les Mirettes are among the many specific and luxurious details infused in the frame creations by the independent label. Visit www.plein-les-mirettes.fr for more discoveries in distinctive eyewear designs. JG

Dana Prekopova, IOKO, Bratislava

Independent optical store owner and eyewear expert launches own collection with NA eyewear

Dana Prekopova opened a boutique style optical shop in Slovakia in 2005 – a time when very few independent collections had reached her home town of Bratislava. “The beginnings were not really easy,” she explains. “Slovak clients weren’t well educated about “independent eyewear”. I began to introduce individual pieces gradually.”

IOKO store interior: redesigned in 2017 by Andrea Durianova, designer + jeweller

The first original, handmade frame collection stocked by IOKO came from French artisan designers Vue dc. “At that time this was a young brand as well and the people behind it seemed to me extraordinary and original. We first met at Opti – the trade fair in Munich, and we immediately had an incredible connection.”

As her business grew, Dana became more and more enthusiastic about unique independent brands and she started to organize events “IOKO Meets…”. “I later started to invite all the independent manufacturers of spectacles we represent in our shop. My idea was supported by the Slovak National Gallery, an incredible place for a presentation of original design and the people behind all brands. For three years we hosted designers like Jason and Karen Kirk, Fréderic Ferrant, Chris and Yoma Mascre, Allan and Bettina Petersen, Sergio Eusebi and Livio Grazziotin, and Veronika Wildgruber, who won the prestigious Silmo d’Or 2017 the same year she was presented at one of our events. Our latest event was dedicated to our new own label. In October 2018 we launched IOKO & NA eyewear – this is a personal passion set up as a small creative start up.”

“IOKO x NA Eyewear is my dream come true” – above, photoshoot featuring the new collaborative collection

Asked to explain her plans with her own line Dana tells the story from the beginning: “I should tell you that Slovakia, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992, didn’t have any eyewear production or history in this field, on which we might have built or drawn ideas. When we used to be Czechoslovakia, the production of spectacles was located in Czech and there it remained.

The aim of the IOKO events in cooperation with the Slovak National Gallery was to speak not only to the public but also to young designers, who might be interested to start a business in this field. I eventually came across one young ambitious Czech jeweler who decided to produce handmade spectacles under her own brand: NA Eyewear. Connected at first on social media, after some time Dana visited NA’s founder in her studio. “I really wanted to get to know her work and hold the final product in my hands.

IOKO x NA – first collection

I travelled to Prague to meet Nastassia Kahotski Aleinikava and Pavel Kahotski. From that moment I knew that together we could develop a perfect result…and this is when the new IOKO collection was born. This day became one of the most special days of my life, and on the way back I was sitting in the train drawing first proposals for new frames.”

The first IOKO x NA collaborative collection is launched with six models, each one produced with three alternatives, in colour and design. Each frame is exclusively handmade and, in the method used, there is zero waste. The frames are produced in Mazzuccheli’s bio acetate, and presented in an original jewellery box or a compact textile packaging by designer Lea Fekete. “Her works are special because of the textile produced through a special technique of layering wool and silk.” The collection is now available exclusively at IOKO, launched with beautiful portrait imagery featuring Dana herself. For more information visit www.ioko.sk and www.naeyewear.com CN

Pearls at Frame Chain

Pearly items are the thing to wear this season  – according to British Vogue, who positively love this trend for earrings, bags, hairclips and the like. Trend-focused brand Frame Chain has been working the look for several months, and continue to reintroduce new pearl accented chain designs which immediately sell out! Favourites include Pearly Queen (above) featuring hand sourced fresh water pearls and the recent addition to the collection, Teenage Kicks, a necklace style chain with small Keshi pearl – the colour and texture of which are similar to sea shells.

Teenage Kicks in yellow gold (£200)

The London brand – created by female design duo Vanessa Harrington and Ann-Magret Kearney, has successfully paved the way for a new style of accessory that perfectly enhances the coolest and most stylish eyewear designs available. Catch their summer designs (if you can!) at leading stockists such as London department store Liberty’s (https://www.libertylondon.com) or visit the Frame Chain website for the latest releases and special editions. www.framechain.co.uk CN

ROLF Spectacles
100% Optical London 24 to 26 February 2024 at Excel London - register for free
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Lunettes Selection: second design store in Berlin

Functional elegance meets innovative style in the newest store from Berlin vintage and contemporary eyewear store Lunettes Selection. The retailer’s latest store is a stone’s throw away from the iconic shopping boulevard, Kurfürstendamm.

Founder Uta Geyer explains: “European design and handwork are celebrated in the store’s furnishing and fittings, and at the same time are represented in the selection of glasses on offer.”

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Lunettes Selection: designed by Oskar Kohnen Studio

Designed by the Berlin/London practice Oskar Kohnen Studio, the new store is furnished with pieces from 20th century European designers and great minds of modernism, including Jacques Adnet, Pierre Paulin, and Bauhaus.

For eyewear, Geyer has selected fine designer models from Italy, France, Belgium, and England, as well as offering in-house line Lunettes Kollektion, which is hand-finished in Italy. Eyewear expertise and craftsmanship is also brought into focus through a customized eye exam service, done on-site with traditional optical measurement tools by a master optician, and through prescription lenses crafted from high-quality Zeiss glass. For more information visit www.lunettes-selection.de and www.oskarkohnen.com CN

Independent newcomers: Poente, Portugal

It’s not on the scene quite yet in a big way outside Portugal, but the young 26 year old designer of Poente Eyewear, who represents the 4th generation in a family of eyewear producers is taking care to develop his label in line with an artisan family tradition. “I’m 26 years old,” says Bernardo Romão. “I was born and raised in Lisbon. I’m a designer and the owner of the emerging label.”
Poente Eyewear: an emerging brand from Portugal
Poente, meaning sunset in Portuguese, is inspired by a fresh and youthful aesthetic and lifestyle. The products are handmade in Portugal, using high quality Mazzuchelli acetate with Carl Zeiss Vision lenses.
“We are working with dynamic people…designers, artists, street artists, filmmakers, photographers and writers. Our collection has a strong feeling of classic eyewear design, with a modern, forward-looking approach to presentation and style. We already have some special stockists including Optica do Sacramento (Lisbon), M Oculista (Lisbon) and Optical Boutique (Porto).” The focus is now on expanding further afield.
Poente Eyewear produces handmade acetate optical frames and sunglasses, made exclusively in Portugal in line with traditional production techniques and family traditions. Find out more about Poente Eyewear at www.poente.pt CN

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