Boutiques

Etnia Barcelona released official images of its flagship store by Santa Maria del Mar (El Born, Barcelona) in April. Remodelled by Jordi Tió, the project also involved interior designers – Lázaro Rosa-Violán, the design studio behind some of Barcelona’s most fashionable hotels and restaurants, including Boca Grande, El Nacional and Soho House Barcelona. Eyestylist visited the building in August 2017.

Etnia’s flagship store extends the brand identity of the Barcelona label in a stylish design focused building with two shop floors, showrooms, workshops, a terrace and a bar/entertainment space at the rooftop, with beautiful views over the city. Owned by David Pellicer, and created over 17 years ago, the Spanish eyewear label has become a top-selling European brand across the world – after particular success in France, as well as further afield, in the US and S. America.

The remodelling of the building was led by Jordi Tió, a design expert related to the design world of Vinçon (a former retail company in the Catalan city) and architect of the Barcelona and Berlin Camper Hotels, amongst others. The work involved the demolition of several bearing walls to create diaphanous spaces in the old building, as well as the lift well, running from top to bottom, with views of the different floors of the store. The façade has been strictly preserved, right down to the colours, respecting the original appearance of the building.

The shop interior speaks for itself. As well as some ‘Catalan’ touches in the colourful details  – the elegant lift is based on a classic Barcelona ‘ascensor’, the individual spaces offer a pleasurable experience for browsing and trying on frames, with recurring themes: furniture and mirrors with the feel of an old-fashioned barber’s shop, and central “bar” areas with mirrors and vintage “objets”  – recovered from old optical stores -, flowers and glass dome displays.

The furnishings and lighting portray a 1940s style, referencing different trades and spaces. From old operating theatre lights to a jeweller’s work bench or theatre dressing table with its light mirror, to create a kind of backstage feeling. The store also stocks art monographs and photography books, to underline the brand’s relationship with the world of the arts, a focus for many of their limited edition sunglasses. www.etniabarcelona.com  Eyestylist.com wishes to thank Noemi at Etnia Barcelona for arranging a tour of the store. CN

An avantgarde shop rarely passes us by and while Eyestylist hasn’t yet managed to visit, we look forward to this experience in the future. Monica Albanese agreed to talk to me about Iconaocchiali – Italy, and her new project with MiN New York.

What is your background?

Our store project was born in 2011 when I joined my sister Barbara’s company. The idea was for me to enhance her great technical know-how, with a new and different aesthetic direction. I am a collector of clothing, handbags and glasses. I have worked in the fashion industry for many years with a lot of different brands. I was also a teacher at the Istituto Marangoni, in Milan and Shanghai.

My family is important to me. They have taught me a lot about respect, beauty and a beautiful style of working. My sister taught me to entertain customers with professionalism and courtesy. She also taught me her love of taking care of the customer’s vision by being very careful to match the technology with beauty. My uncle is Paolo Seminara, who has taught me everything I know about eyewear. He is an important eyewear designer – he created the Vogue eyewear brand in the ’70s. It became a very successful brand – and was sold to Luxottica in the ’90s. Image above: Barbara and Monica Albanese

What is currently available in the shop? 

Our store is unusual and unexpected. I like it when people ask “what do you sell?” We like to amaze in a gentle and discreet way, choosing elegance and cultural “references” in eyewear. In our store, you can find niche brands. Some are strong on image, some are more valuable in the construction of the glasses and the choice of materials. Among the brands we have selected are Linda Farrow, Lotho, Platoy and Frency & Mercury.

We also love Kuboraum and Slave to Ancestors, the collection made entirely in leather.  We work with many more, including Jacques Durand, Sama Eyewear, Portrait, Robert La Roche, Lunor, Jean Francois Rey, and Orgreen.

You are also involved in a sunglasses collection with MiN NYC – how did this come about? Are you the only stockist of MiN in Italy? 
This is a funny story. A young man entered my former shop in Florence. He was very enthusiastic about the brand selection and the elegance of the store. From that moment on, we became friends, and this has developed into a working relationship. Matthew called me in the summer asking me if I wanted to work with him and Chad to create the MiN NEW YORK glasses line. I immediately accepted, and began to seek the right language that respected the aesthetic aptitude of their brand.
I am not the only stockist in Italy, but our store is like a “brand” showroom for MiN in Italy – since I’m directly involved in the creative side.
Last summer we presented our first part of the Eyewear Collection in Florence at Pitti Uomo; we also did Pitti Fragrance, and we went to New York for Vision Expo. We are brand new in eyewear, but already strong in the fragrance business.

What are the MiN Eyewear designs like and why has the perfume brand moved into eyewear?
Presenting fragrance and eyewear as a part of the same story is a completely new idea.
One by one we have created and translated every scent story into a spectacle in the form of glasses.
When we created every single style, we sprayed a cloud of perfume into the air and carried our emotions back and forth and went back to every place visited in Chad’s mind at the time of creating the scent.
The MiN New York fragrances are created to celebrate a moment, a minute of life (MiN as a dime of minute). We think that a better product can make life fuller and that through an authentic experience something of us is revealed, that was previously hidden. Physics and metaphysics. A journey within ourselves but with a propensity to life.

As a designer, what are your most important influences in Italy or outside Italy?
Usually my personal feeling is my starting point. My background is like a ‘chest’, filled with tastes and things that I choose and are the only thing that make me unique and special. As an italian woman I usually live among the flame of florentine architecture, I can see all the best painting exhibitions in Milan, where I live alf of my week (as a designer), I can travel north and sud for a week end, smiling and testing all the “colours” of life.

Mention anything else about your shop in Signa regarding the styling?
I love change. The store has taken shape in time and that it suits the flow of life with changing needs and what seems important or new at that time. For this reason we have not created any fixed structure, excluding a wall cabinet. Our project is born of the need to express in a simple and universal way (hence the choice of the ICONA name), the idea of the beautiful as a manifestation of an instantly recognizable functional aesthetic.
All the eyewear collections and the objects we sell (Grottaglie Ceramics, Monica Albanese Handbags, Bijoux bought in many travels, Objects of various nature and Pieces of Art) have been chosen through a careful search of what we really consider as the Icon and thus representing a style and elegance that will be an integral part of the customer who will choose them.
We like to think that we can present glasses and other products as small artistic masterpieces and design objects. CN Iconaocchiali, /29, Str. Vicinale Vecellio Tiziano, 2, 50058 Signa – Florence

Eyestylist wrote about Monocle, the optical ‘eyewear gallery’ in Rome, in June 2013 – https://www.eyestylist.com/2013/06/monocle-romes-eyewear-gallery/.

Four years on, the shop owned by Gabriele Vergerio, and managed by creative eyewear expert Carmen Cox, has been restyled – by architect Andrea Eusebi. The new interior highlights the individuality of the frame collections on display in a chic understated neutral setting that exudes finesse and attention to detail, typical of the store which is one of the leading eyewear boutiques in Europe.

The restyled interior is adorned with elegant details including materials such as Palisander and brushed iron, in a design that was commissioned exclusively for the store “to reflect the image of the owner Gabriele Vergerio” –  and realized in its entirety by skilled Italian artisans.
For 2017, Monocle highlights Jacques Marie Mage, Ahlem, Linda Farrow (newly selected), Matsuda, Dita, Thom Browne, Mykita, Hoffmann, Kuboraum, 8000 and the boutique’s own label, Monocle Eyewear. The store prides itself on providing an exquisite choice in hard-to-find designs, created to exacting standards of craftsmanship in luxurious, often unusual materials.

Monocle Eyeglasses gallery/Eyewear/Accessories, Via di Campo Marzio 13, 00186, Roma, Italy – www.monocle.it CN

Götti and Switzerland are synonymous with beauty and artistic creativity. Twenty-three years ago, Sven Götti opened his first optical shop with Urs Niederer – Götti + Niederer – and the first collection of Götti designs were sold there. The historical building – Mühlenplatz 1 in Lucerne  – is now the setting for Sven Götti’s own exclusive eyewear boutique in contemporary, streamlined surroundings that echo the Swiss designer’s frames. The straight-lined interior provides the ideal setting for the minimalistic titanium and acetate optical and sunglass designs. The interior is sleek and pure in black and white, combined with oak parquet floors.

The complete Götti collections are on display including the Götti Dimension frames created using 3D printing technology; and the latest innovative Götti Perspective rimless project. The reception area features a “Wall of Frames” photo display with personalities that are fans of Götti eyewear. Among others you will find Tamy Glauser; Hans-Ulrich Obrist; Philipp Fankhauser; Stefanie Heinzmann; Greis; and Lea Lu.

The eye-catcher in the Boutique is a chandelier manufactured from over five hundred pairs of sunglasses from previous Götti collections. The unique light installation was specially designed for this store by the Zurich design studio Bureau Purée. There are many reasons to visit Lucerne Switzerland – the wonderful covered bridge Kapellbrüke (Chapel Bridge) built in 1333; the amazing medieval architecture; The Richard Wagner Museum; and now a stunning tribute to Sven Götti’s dedication to eyewear and Switzerland. www.gotti.ch JG

A special thank you to Ti Kwa of Rigards for introducing us to Haute Eye, a leading independent eyewear store in Seoul – with a selection of collections that is both creative and individual.

The store is located in the bustling Mapo district of South Korea’s capital, a busy shopping destination close to universities, a huge variety of restaurants, coffee shops and eateries as well as famous nightspots – all in all, a thriving, fun place to visit with large crowds and lots of atmosphere.

“We have many European collections and artisan editions,” explained the team who welcomed me and allowed me a look in some of the cabinets brimming with designer collections like theo, Vava and Mykita. “Rigards is a recent addition for us. We are also specialising in emerging Korean labels…Stealer is the new one, with ophthalmic and sun styles – made exclusively in steel – they are comfortable and very wearable, as well as cool.” (www.stealereyewear.com). Sister brand – Muzik, was created in 2013 and is produced exclusively in France (www.muzikeyewear.com).

In a small space, Haute Eye shows what can be done to offer the discerning eyewear enthusiast a unique choice of the latest eyewear – with the focus on emerging talent alongside creative icons. Watch this space for future news at Haute Eye. www.hauteeye.com/ CN