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Accessories with Colour Composition

1st July 2013 Caroline Abram escorts me into her wonderfully spacious premises, complete with a terrace, a loft and a proper kitchen. It’s a lovely, airy environment in which to design and work, a hub of creativity for Abram’s many talents, and her expanding international business. She has an intriguing eyewear history- her parents are involved optics – her father is an eye surgeon, and her mother Annette was the guiding light behind les créateurs d’Opta, the Paris boutique, which was among the first to promote independent eyewear designers. Her creative daughter launched Filao eighteen years ago – a collection of eyewear accessories made in Africa. Abram speaks fondly of the women who make her designs. “Yes, I have my Filao ladies in Senegal,” says Abram, “these women make the accessories by hand – beaded and glass chains and cases, and other items. I spent my childhood in Senegal, and living there helped me so much with my work, because the women there are always mixing colours – yellow, blue red – anything they put together works. They have a real sense of colour, and they know what they are doing.

“In 2008 I made my first frames, and the real question is – ‘why didn’t I do it sooner’?” I’d had it in my mind for a long time, but I wanted to create my own identity  first, away from everything I saw in the stores. And  then I decided to start my cat eye project – which people were not wearing at that time.” The concept developed in parallel with Abram’s life in Africa, and the considerable time she spends in southern Florida. “Florida is my ‘country home’ – the American version,” she says with a laugh, “and my mother and I are crazy about thrift shops – it’s a real hobby. There are many of them in Florida, with items from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. We are buying, buying and buying. I’m in this time dimension – I’ve always been a matching colour lady, and friends kid me about that because I dress differently. I mix Miami and the colours of Senegal, far from the European way of life. My frame collection had to be a colourful cat eye – it was meant to be! I have variations on the cat eye – large and small. I like to use clear colours and bi-colour, happy frames, fresh and alive. I think the collection is a reflection of me – cat eye with a sense of humour.”

Caroline loves all accessories. “With my designs, I want an accessory environment. I want people to understand that frames are a real accessory. That is why the name Filao will soon disappear, and the new brand name is Caroline Abram Eyewear and Fashion Accessories. My next plan is to further the men’s collection.” The vivacious designer describes her concept of the woman who wears Caroline Abram frames. “The complexity of a woman is always in my mind. She wants everything, and then she doesn’t want anything. In French we call it ‘contraire’ (contrary). She is independent and funny in everything that she does – perhaps a bit stubborn too. The designs include all the characteristics of women, with no age barrier. She is happy, and my frames are always wearable, and she doesn’t feel out of place. Freshness and happy – that’s important for me. People want personality without exaggeration.” www.carolineabram.com JG