Arts & travel

An Athens showroom event for eyewear aficionados takes place this October

‘INTRO | Frames Forward’ organisers have announced their next Athens event which will take place on 15th and 16th October 2022. An exclusive (trade only) ‘Personal Edition’ for the optical community in Greece, the event will welcome just 9 unique luxury eyewear collections, including Lapima, Pontet Eyewear and Etudes.

“The second INTRO event to be held in Athens, the signature of this edition is casual and simple,” say co-founders and eyewear entrepreneurs, Natalia Klimi and Maria Angeloudi. “Our philosophy is to host our clients in a comfortable and tasteful environment and offer them a selection of brands that capture the essence of the market, including recent trends.” Above and below: SOLID EVENTS will host the Athens event

First launched in Athens in 2021, INTRO | Frames Forward also arranges their event in Thessaloniki in Northern Greece on an annual basis. The co-founders Maria Angeloudi and Natalia Klimi, who are both experts in the field of eyewear, are passionate about bringing the latest and best in eyewear to the retailers of Greece, with whom they have created a unique and well established network.

‘INTRO | Frames Forward’ takes place at SOLID EVENTS, 1 Omirou Str, Neo Psychiko 15451 Athens. There will be an open bar on both days, starting at 8pm!  For more details visit www.introshow.gr For enquiries contact [email protected]

A film on color by Ørgreen Optics is launched by the Danish company today, via www.orgreenoptics.com and www.eyestylist.com Created in Copenhagen, the film follows the reflections of Sahra Lysell, long-term Color Advisor at Ørgreen Optics – interviewed by Clodagh Norton / Eyestylist.com, – Petra Kleis, Photographer and Allan R Kruse, Creative Director.

The film tells each of the interviewee’s personal experiences, memories, and colour influences as well as exploring their ideas on using colors in their work. Lysell, who has worked as the color specialist at Ørgreen since 1997, is one-of-a kind in terms of her specialism in developing color palettes in the optical industry. In the films she discusses approaches to color in the field of eyewear citing examples of how she combines specific colours to create a particular look or transforms colors which have a particular association into something new and fresh – combining them with different tones or hues. Lysell also explains many of the far-reaching personal and cultural influences she feels have impacted her views on color and wearing color, through her career, some of which continue to influence her eyewear palettes today. Above: new styles were released in the very contemporary HAVN collection last week: demonstrating the “flowing colour palette” at the Danish brand

“I live in a city where you apply color to walls, to old buildings… I live in a very historical part of the town,” she explains about her home in Copenhagen. “That tells a lot of story actually through color….”

In the film Lysell also explains how on-trend color palettes and iconic ‘classical’ tones have evolved through the years at Ørgreen, often coexisting in combination, and irrespective of color trends in other disciplines.

Petra Kleis – a photographer based in Copenhagen  – provides insights into a photographer’s relationship with color stories. “I really like the 3-dimensional feeling that colour can give you, and the softness,” she notes. “I use color a lot but it’s really rare that I ask why I use this colour and not that colour.” Allan R. Cruse, Creative Director reflects on topics such as early colour influences in childhood, and his area of expertise, branding, core values and how a colour language relates to and represents an important element of our vision of the world. For more information : www.orgreenoptics.com

This independent eyewear fair takes place in Lucerne on 4th September

The Museum of Transport is the selected venue for Hall of Frames Lucerne, a special edition event taking place for the first time in the beautiful Swiss city. Hall of Frames is a highly regarded event organiser specialising in intimate venues for the presentation of some of the finest independent eyewear collections, and this event will be a unique opportunity to view the latest frames from brands coming from across Europe. Above: Shiba from the Imaginary Lines collection by Ørgreen Optics, the Danish design company, a longstanding exhibitor with Hall of Frames

The organisers of Hall of Frames have confirmed a line-up of over 50 exhibitors including Coblens (Germany), Didier Voirol (Switzerland), Komorebi (Belgium), Nirvan Javan (Switzerland), ROLF Spectacles (Austria) and You Mawo (Germany) and say the event is now full.

The line up includes a handful of high-profile French exhibitors this year such as Morel, JF REY, Nathalie Blanc, Caroline Abram and Talla Eyewear.

Award-winning eyewear brand ROLF Spectacles will offer an opportunity to preview its latest innovations in wood and stone and its highly successful 3D printed plant-based glasses, as the season kicks off in September.

The Hall of Frames event has confirmed that it will continue its exclusive partnership with lens manufacturer Nikon for 2022 and a collaboration with Dynoptic Partner AG (www.dynoptic.ch), an association of leading opticians from across Switzerland.

Hall of Frames takes place on Sunday 4th September, from 9am to 6pm at The Museum of Transport in Lucerne.  For more information visit www.hallofframes.ch

Presentation of S/S collection and new campaign at TANK GPS space

On Wednesday 18^th May, 2022, AKONI Creative Director Salma Rachid and CEO Rosario Toscano, and Caroline Issa hosted key press and VIP guests at TANK  to present the AKONI S/S ’22 collection and campaign featuring work by Lea Colombo.

The AKONI collection, which is inspired by wristwatches, writing instruments and other precious heirloom designs, has quickly begun to establish a name for itself as a reference for luxury, incorporating the latest advances in frame materials, craft and technology as well as technical details which include a distinctive threaded-tube screw system.

Attendees included Stephen Odubola, Donna Wallace, Noella Coursaris Musunka, Appiok Dier Tong, Amya Powell, Tilly Main, Zac Stenmark, Casey James, Reece Clarke, Tatyana Kodzayeva, Brett Staniland, Keon Heelee, Emmanuel, Baek Do Hyun and Eyestylist.com. Akoni designs, manufactures and distributes luxury eyewear as an independent company promoting craftsmanship, expertise and quality. In June 2020, French luxury fashion maison Balmain signed a deal with Akoni for a collection which has become talked about for its Japanese production quality and expert craftsmanship. An additional new luxury brand is already in the pipeline and soon to be announced. For more details about the AKONI eyewear collection visit: www.akoni.ch