Boutiques

An energetic hub embraces Brussels. It is a hive of remarkable activity for culture, cuisine, fashion, and international politics. The city boasts vast green spaces and lovely parks; numerous museums; architectural landmarks; and it is the capital of the European Union. Belgian fashion designers have captivated the global style stage, and include Dries Van Noten; Raf Simons; Ann Demeulemeester, and Martin Mangela. Chocolate, chips, waffles and beer are known to dominate cuisine; however, elegant gastronomy is alive, well and flourishing in Brussels, and beyond the city centre.

Brussels includes nineteen municipalities, and a stroll of the historic Sablon area enchants the visitor with tempting antique shops; vintage clothing; designer labels; charming cafés; and speciality food shops. For distinctive and original custom-made eyewear – set your sights on the remarkable and influential Lunetier Ludovic Boutique. “My wife Vinciane and I opened the boutique in 2015,” recollects optician and owner Ludovic Elens when we met in Brussels, “and we specialise in bespoke glasses. We do feature some brands, but I am an eyewear crafter…that is my passion. We offer the finest quality and personalisation.”

Lunetier Ludovic is a bright and airy space over three levels; the street level displays frames where customers try on the designs; the lower level is Elens craft shop; and the upper level houses the office. “It was very hard to find a location; every week we went to a different area. We chose the Sablon as it has many interesting shops – art;  jewellery; chocolate; antiques; and luxury products,’ says Elens.

The frames crafted at Lunetier Ludovic are truly luxurious works of art. Clients chose their materials from the intriguing collection that Elens has acquired – including sheep and deer horns that he works in layers. “We never throw anything out”, declares Elens, “as you never know when a particular piece of acetate or horn might be useful.”

Each design takes approximately two weeks to create – and then two to three months for the actual crafting of the frame. “I want to design the frame that the wearer wants to wear,” Elens emphasises, “as we have many clients who are unable to wear a regular frame from a designer or manufacturer – perhaps due to an abnormal facial issue. However, that can be overcome with the correct design and bespoke fitting. There are details in the designs that you may not see, but the wearer can feel.”

Lunetier Ludovic has an amazingly diverse international clientele that range in age from two-and-one-half-years old – to eighty-one years old. They all wear Ludovic designs, which are individually personalised. Some clients are very specific about what they want. “We had a client who was a Roy Orbison fan, and he wanted frames exactly like what Orbison wore, so that is what we created.” Discover more about Lunetier Ludovic and the boutique’s unique, and beautifully handcrafted eyewear at www.lunetierludovic.be JG

Alicia Hartman opened Eye Q in 2011 at the luxury location Limegrove Lifestyle Center on Barbados platinum west coast, a shopping hot spot featuring luxury fashion stores – Vuitton, Burberry and Ralph Lauren. Despite a worldwide recession at the time, the shop quickly became the leading independent optical boutique on the island. In 2018, the owner launched her own independent sunglasses label, PFB (Peoples from Barbados) dedicated to the Bajan community and its unique all-embracing lifestyle, filled with warmth, colour and natural style. 

“Many people thought I was crazy to take on a project of this scale with no experience in retail, marketing and management,” explains Alicia Hartman with  a smile. But with the support of her husband Sam and family she achieved what she set out to do,  “with passion and love”.

Alicia set out to offer personalized stylist consultations offering the best eye care with a stylistic approach and a laid back yet professional atmosphere. “Initially we brought the world to Barbados through a combination of designer and independent brands,” she explains. “From day one, I preferred independent brands,  but I did incorporate some of the well known designer brands as crowd pleasers.”

Over the years she gained the trust of clients and was able to focus on creative independent brands. With this came Peoples from Barbados in 2017, Alicia’s own collection of sunglasses. “The shop has a real purpose beyond eyewear and I’m excited. It’s as if we’re taking Barbados, the people and the culture to the world through a truly unique colorful understated and glamorous collection!”

The store itself offers a clean minimal space designed to showcase the frames – with Caribbean flair, and a personal playlist of music that reflects the owner’s love for travel and other cultures. “Initially there were wall decals of different people in glasses. We referred to them as the #eyeqpeoplez with a “z”. In Barbados “my peoples or my people” is a connecting phrase, to make someone feel a part of something special. The idea was always to have a personalized stylistic approach bringing people together in Barbados, regardless of there class or colour – and with one thing in common: “great taste in glasses and the desire to be unique and stand out from the crowd”.

Today a few things have changed. “To liven up the minimal space there are life size black and white portraits of beautiful Bajan faces in PFB eyewear by local photographer Adrian Richards. We wanted to showcase the real Barbados – not just the “postcard images”.”

This season, the collections in the store include independent brands from different cities around the world. “On an island, it’s important to do that! The demographic here ranges from aristocrats to fishermen to artists and celebrities.”

When I select designs I have a specific client in mind. I must offer glamour (Linda Farrow / UK), colour (theo /Belgium) , and technological sophistication (Mykita / Germany). With the Peoples from Barbados collection, we can also offer our own distinctive DNA ‘with Bajan Soul’. “I have aspirations for PFB, to make my Bajan people proud of who they are. I plan to promote Bajan artists and local talent and to encourage them to think independently – to live their dreams!”

Peoples from Barbados Eyewear is available at EYE Q and Selima Optique, New York. Find more details at https://peoplesfrombarbados.com/ CN

Eye Q Stylist Opticians, Limegrove Lifestyle Centre Holetown, Barbados

We took a look for ourselves and discovered tiny aliens with an obsession for kung fu. This is the inspiration behind the installations at the new 2-floor Gentle Monster store in London, a space that is more straightforward in its conceptual presentation than sister stores in the US or Korea, where part of the fun is the architectural excellence of the spaces and unexpected surprises encountered as you literally “journey” through the stores.

In London, the experience is more about the installations themselves: they include a huge kinetic apparatus with a gong that sounds every three minutes, a Kung Fu “training field” and “battle ground” for the aliens and a waterfall video installation by artist Ryoici Kurokawa, referencing the places where an aspiring Kung Fu master would typically train and meditate.

And then there are the glasses and sunglasses: not so much at centre stage, and displayed in typical Gentle Monster style, in amongst the installations, usually on minimal, open shelves, but always designed to invite us to pick up and try them on as much as possible, the experience of which is positively encouraged at Gentle Monster.

The eyewear and sunglass designs available here offer a mix of wearable and very flamboyant metal and plastic shapes, colours and forms, and are priced – unexpectedly – at more moderate prices than we had imagined (some just under £200 – all made in China or Korea). Highlights include very classic plastic sun styles in easy colours – the collab with Tilda Swinton was a memorably classy one – and a few outlandish sci-fi pieces with metal details such as the capsule, Once Upon a Future. Much more is promised, with London Fashion Week being the immediate focus for September and, as in other GM shops, a changing and evolving theme, a part of the DNA of the label, will ensure nothing stays the same for too long.

The new store is located at 28 & 29 Argyll Street London, just near Liberty’s in Central London. The opening in the UK follows a second store in LA and a new pop up in NYC at DSM and Selfridges on Oxford St., London. Gentle Monster was founded in 2011 by Hankook Kim. www.gentlemonster.com CN