Joan

Brilliant buds, blooms and blossoms enthusiastically await the arrival of Spring – and its palette of colours. Ideally this is also the time to refresh, enhance and colourise your personal accessories wardrobe. A great place to start is with eyewear that combines originality, fashion flair and savoir-faire. Spectacle Eyeworks in Vancouver, Canada features striking new designs in the Pussy Galore Collection. Volume and tri-colouration bring glamour to Roya – with its focused attention to detail, temple accents, and feline curves. More eyewear news from Spectacle Eyeworks at www.spec-eyeworks.com

Lafont Paris unveiled a lovely optical collection in Milan that spotlights favourite spring colours. Among the highlights is a contemporary classic design in Navy Blue with a perky red trim on the frame front. Lafont has captured with Tatiana the trend for rounded, soft shapes that are extremely flattering on the face. www.lafont.com

Cutting edge technology, smart design, and innovative materials feature in the Charmant Z collection for men. The frames are very lightweight, with distinctive detailing, and clarity of line. Charmant ZT19827 exudes refined understatement. www.charmant.com

Japanese designer Masahiro Maruyama creates frames that are fresh, articulate, and an intriguing mix of straight and round forms. The distinct design of style 0022 reflects striking colour and ingenuity. www.masahiromaruyama.com JG

Strong, bold shapes feature prominently in eyewear collections, with frames that are powerful – but never overpowering. Frames are crafted into unique, edgy shapes, with key detailing, enabling the wearer to express their individual personality. Kirk & Kirk have added two new shapes to their exceptional Vivarium Collection, plus an enchanting new sterling silver and 9K gold animal pin – an English Springer Spaniel – the affectionate, loyal and gentle natured hunting dog. Huxley (above) in crystal Italian acrylic, is handmade in France, exudes style and is exceptionally lightweight. Kirk & Kirk are exhibiting in Milan, and will present both the Vivarium and The Kaleidoscope Collections. www.kirkandkirk.com

Vidal Erkohen at RVS Eyewear creates dynamic shapes, and Eli in contrasting tones of dark and sunny Havana, with blue lenses is a striking design. Eli is included in The Shining Collection – the first ever Limited Edition by RVS Eyewear. The frames contain laminated acetates to create a custom look, and the designs are the first glossy collection to be produced by RVS – matte eyewear has been their speciality since 2007. Production is limited to one hundred pieces for each colour of each model – custom crafted collector’s items. www.rvseyewear.com

“We love crazy,” says theo, – so bold, intrepid, and innovative is stunningly apparent with this brand. Belgian designer James van Vossel had a “crazy idea”, and his creative imagination resulted in theo+James:Plié.The eye-catcher in this bi-coloured frame is the end piece. Instead of attaching the end piece to the front by welding, the end piece is part of the front piece, cut from the same metal plate. First the end piece is bended to the front, then bended backwards. There are four different designs – Plooi (above) Pli, Piega and Plissado. They all mean “pleat” in Dutch, French, Italian and Portuguese respectively. More fun and imaginative frames by theo at www.theo.be

Textile designer John Robshaw has joined forces with Italian luxury eyewear brand Mondelliani to create vibrant, colourful sunglasses. As a college student, Robshaw spent a year in Rome and absorbed “la dolce vita” with great enthusiasm. So he was delighted to combine his love of textiles, and inspired Roman ingenuity into sunglasses with vitality, spirit, style and lavish colour. Devi in fresh spring green features a sunny print on the interior. See more colourful designs by Mondelliani for John Robshaw at www.mondelliani.it JG

A distinguished eyewear pedigree is reflected in Smoke x Mirrors with fine craftsmanship, and the merging of traditional spectacle production with state-of-the-art technology creates symmetric harmony. New York based cousins Roi Ironi and David Shabtai launched the brand last year, influenced by the style and spirit of the 1960s and 1970s. Sunglasses with attitude – combining classic and modern elements – highlight the vibrant collection in acetate and metal. Geometric silhouettes, focus on detail, fabulous colours, and artful aesthetics characterise the designs for men and women. With Smoke x Mirrors, there is always a new role to assume. Chic and cool combine in Volunteers of America (above) in bright horn with dark grey lenses. The double bridge – a Smoke x Mirrors signature statement – and the voluminous shape, express edgy glamour.

The timelessness of the designs adds to the style appeal. The male model above wears Atomic in crystal with a white acetate brow bar. A luxuriously exaggerated sunglass shape – Golden Brown – on the woman is handcrafted in matt gold metal, with an acetate rim in green pearl – an empowering design.

Ironi and Shabtai believe that sunglasses should be prominent and pleasing on your face. The bold, striking pattern in Passenger (above) creatively achieves this aim in bright tortoise acetate – in a sleek design that combines fashion, function and fun. Smoke x Mirrors will present the collection in Milan, and for further information on this innovative brand and their exciting collections, visit www.smokexmirrors.com JG

Eyestylist continues the Eyewear Canine Companion series and today we meet Ruby – “the best employee at Niloca” says owner and Niloca designer Colin Redmond in Australia.

Have you had Ruby since she was a puppy? “Ruby was actually born on St. Valentine’s day in 2009, and we picked her up as a puppy from the breeders on Easter weekend. She is an Airedale Terrier and our best employee.”

Can you please describe Ruby’s daily routine? “Ruby has her own fan base in our new location, which features a floor to ceiling glass frontage: this is where she bases herself on a restored 1930’s Art Deco arm chair. People walk by and can’t help but smile. During winter, she stays the entire day – only raising her head for pats from people walking in – and bringing treats I might add! The only other time she gets out of the chair is when a supplier visits and brings a tray of macaroons  – then it’s game on! Ruby’s main task might be a little surprising, as she is actually a very good judge of character. At day’s end we walk home together, sometimes stopping at the grocery store – where she gets more pats. The only time she’s not walking is during wet weather – her feet are made of sugar!”

What are some of Ruby’s special characteristics? “She has a snorting latex pig that she loves playing with – the snorter died in 30 seconds, but the pig remains. We found it in Paris years ago and she loves it. Now every overseas trip I have to buy a latex pig. One year I ran out of time, and she wouldn’t come for pats for a whole week. Luckily now I can buy the pigs at the local pet store if I ever forget. Sometimes if Ruby has been up all night chasing possums, she will be tired, and sleep solidly through the day.”

Has walking with your dog ever triggered a design idea? “I named a frame after her and it turned out to be the biggest selling frame I’ve designed. However, she did inspire a frame four years ago, and it will be presented at MIDO. Ruby and I were on the beach and what triggered the idea was a new yacht. The combination of materials were beautifully combined and technically advanced. The idea produced sketches that could not be produced until now, and the end result is pretty amazing. It will be another ‘eyewear first’ for our young design company.”

Does Ruby travel with you? “Ruby has travelled once to our outback workshop in Dubbo – a rural farming town and she loved it. Apart from that, Ruby whimpers when I start packing the bags for overseas – I don’t think she’d enjoy 24+ hour journeys. One time, I found Ruby sitting in my suitcase, looking up at me with big puppy eyes. The other place I take her is in the car to our country retreat. It’s a great place for me to refine designs and be inspired by nature’s offerings.”

Please tell us about Ruby’s watercolour portrait (to be unveiled in Milan) – is an animal portrait artist doing this? “Haha – it’s me! I was taught watercolours, which are a great medium that I don’t get enough time to indulge in. ”

Anything else you would like to add about your canine companion? “Without her there is no Niloca Eyewear. Ruby is part of the family, she is so much a part of our passion for life and love for what we do. Everyone that sees her smiles – she is the essence of good with a sense of humour to match, when you need it. A very instinctive and caring companion.” www.niloca.com JG