Creative spirits

1st May 2014 Once upon a time, children who needed to wear glasses really didn’t want to. Styles and colours were limited, and frames just weren’t fun. Then, like a magic wand in a children’s fairy tale, there appeared a delightful collection of frames for youngsters with a catchy name – Zoobug – that appealed to little hearts and fashion desires. Eyestylist meets Dr. Julie Le, children’s eye surgeon – above with her daughter Prosper – who shares her story about the creation of Zoobug.

Was there a defining moment when you realised that there was a need for high quality protective eyewear for youngsters? “I saw a lot of UV related eye problems during my training as an ophthalmologist in the UK, but it only hit home when I tried to buy sunglasses for my one-year-old niece. There was little choice and the quality was very poor.

What are your design influences? “I design instinctively and draw inspiration from London life as we’ve got this amazing hub of creativity and style at our doorstep. I love experimenting with colours and strong shapes. But what looks good on paper may not always work on a child’s face; that’s why all my new ideas are prototyped and tested on actual children first. I am lucky I have many willing volunteers from family and friends. My quest for the perfect pair of sunglasses or ophthalmic frames lends itself to my progressive design method, where I am constantly tweaking and refining. It may take several seasons and versions to come up with a shape and fit that I am truly happy with. This is because children’s faces are so varied and pose the biggest challenge. I always design with a particular age range in mind, but even then, there are huge variations in shape and size. Now that children’s tastes are more sophisticated, it becomes harder as you need to understand what they are willing to wear at what age.”

Do you feel that parents are more aware nowadays about eye protection for children? “Yes definitely which is a great thing. We struggled in the early years but now there is much more public awareness for the need to protect children’s eyes and to spend a little more for quality.” What are the most fun aspects of creating eyewear for children – and the most challenging? “I am a big child at heart so if I get excited by a shape, design or colour , then I know kids will too. A good fitting frame that makes a child feel great and confident about themselves is the most rewarding aspect of my job. I’ve often been asked the question of why I left my surgical career to design eyewear for children. Well, I naively wanted to make a difference. In the UK, children had a raw deal when it came to the dreaded NHS frames, and it was unusual to think that children had any desire to look cool or stylish in their glasses. The issue of course, was the lack of public awareness to protect children’s eyes in the sun. I thought it would take 3-4 years to instigate change and return to my day job. Eight years on, and I’ve only just scratched the surface. In China, where we have just entered the market, parents don’t even believe in their children wearing glasses, fearing that it will make their vision worse and they will become dependent.” www.zoobug.com JG

1st April 2014 Hapter was created in the Italian Dolomite Mountains in January 2013 by founders Eric Balzan and Mirko Forti, when they launched the txt1001 collection, featuring a trademark tactile expressiveness obtained by a special fusion of surgical steel to high-end textiles. Balzan and Forti share with  Eyestylist how they created and are developing their business.

Before the discovery of the amazing goggles, in what profession were you working? “Mirko brings on board several years of solid experience designing for some of the big players in the eyewear business. Trained as an Industrial Designer, he is in charge of product development, and is the technical side of Hapter,” says Eric.

“I am more a hybrid profile matching creativity and business experience, with solid brand and product management experience gathered in a variety of fashion companies, primarily in the eyewear business, but also in apparel and more recently in the watches and jewellery segment. Hapter represents the overlapping zone of different experiences, cultures and personalities of Mirko and I. And the ambition is really to lay the foundations of an eyewear project based on creativity and debate between opposite elements, like Mirko and I. In 2009 the discovery of the heirloom glasses, and the three years that followed have been chaotic, with an uncertain period of dreams, hopes, tries, failures, excitement, and we invested all our savings to create our own independent enterprise.”

Please tell us about your background and love of mountain climbing?

“Mirko and I met at college, but it was about ten years ago that we started to develop a friendship based on important common interests, mainly in design, eyewear and the mountains. We are expert all-rounders – from ski mountaineering to snowboard to rock and mountain climbing. We assiduously spend our free time wandering on Dolomite Mountains that surround us. We initially treated them as a playground; through maturity we evolved to see the mountains as a mystic place, and a source of experience and inspiration which deserves respect. The mountains are an important element of our culture; therefore, of our project. Besides the lucky retrieval of the military goggles, out minds are soaked with cultural and visual inspiration that comes from the mountains, and this is what we transfer into our project….and in fact….the elements in our project are:

“Brand: We chose the name Hapter by the concept of ‘Haptic Perception’ which is the process of recognizing objects through touch: hands are still the most important body-part to survive in the mountains, and observing the strong hands of mountain people is an experience in itself. Design: The Dolomite region, in the far north of Italy, is an historic military battle front, but this for us also represents a land of integration between varied and symbiotic cultures. In Hapter, we combine the rigorous structural concept derived from a Nordic engineering background, and the artisanal know-how and flair of Mediterranean expressiveness.

“Tradition: Hapter offers the exclusivity of a multi-prized object, nevertheless it carries the tradition of a luxury product, thanks to a contemporary reinterpretation of unique local materials with history. Style: Mountain people are no-frills and straight to the point – ‘repulsion for excess’ guides all our design, creative and stylistic choices; the fabrics used in collection txt1001, though artisanal and precious, were developed by an Italian expert in artisan fabrics. They have a light weave and sober, natural shades. Visual Inspirations: We transfer a specific mood, that is typical of the mountain environment: wind, cold, solitude, sufferance, effort, survival are our topics that we transfer to the collection.”

What is the profile of the Hapter customer?

“People that take things a bit more seriously than they should…this is how we are, and how we think our customers could be. People that, no matter what their social environment is, look for solitude and intimate realization in their fast lives. People sensitive to beauty with a consolidated experience of critical consumption, looking for an intimate experience in what they buy. Most of the numerous spontaneous contacts and requests for information in the market comes from artists, fashion and product designers, architects or similar professions. And we think a good number of them fall under the above description.” www.hapter.it JG

Photos: Top photo of Mirko Forti and Eric Balzan, and image of the heirloom goggles by Luca Santocono exclusively for Eyestylist.

1st March 2014 His tall, lithe figure is silhouetted against Parisian landmark buildings – Eglise Saint Germain des Près, and Aux Deux Magots – the latter the favourite café of Jean-Paul Satre, Simone de Beauvoir and other literary luminaries. In his own metier, Jérémy is an eyewear designer of international acclaim. Paris is an inspriation for Tarian – The Left Bank being a favourite and familiar haunt, while The Marais is another source of energy and reference. Streets, buildings, and history all inspire his work. But so do travel, people, museums, nature, architecture – in fact – life itself.

We settle comfortably at Deux Magots, and over delicious coffee, Jérémy relates his eyewear odyssey. “I designed my first fame for myself, as ‘revenge’ because I needed to wear glasses from the age of eight.” However, his “revenge” evolved into a continuing unbridled passion for eyewear. He worked at ic! berlin for two years – where he won his first Silmo d’Or – before setting up his own business three years ago. In 2012 he captured his second Silmo d’Or – the eyewear equivalent of a Bafta or Oscar trophy – for his sunglass design Saintonge. Tarian’s sunglasses and optical frames can now be found in over 200 boutiques worldwide.

How does his design process work? “When I design, I really need to concentrate only on design, and I find this more and more necessary. I just cannot say ‘oh well, I’ll take an hour and design'”, explains Tarian. He also finds his master classes in eyewear design at HEAD (Geneva University of Art and Design/Switzerland) have a reflection in his work. “I find that working with the students opens me to new ideas. Glasses are not just a product, but also a personality on the face. I find that talking with the students, and listening to their stories, who are from all over the world, comes into my thinking.

Tarian draws each line, curve and detail of a frame design, and he says: “My designs now are very different from when I began five years ago. I focus more on comfort, and I can see how just one millimetre can change everything. Harmony is important – how the shape will fit on the face. I love working in acetate and metal, and there are so many things to explore with these two materials. For the collection in the autumn, we are experimenting with new textures, using these two elements.” The Tarian Collection is also eco-friendly, and only the finest quality acetate is used in his designs.

“For independent designers, it’s so important to keep independent in terms of product, and to explain the brand philosophy,” says Tarian. His original, unique and desirable frames contribute to making eyewear such an exciting accessory with creative design and style. www.jeremytarian.com JG

Shoes with Flair and Originality

1st February 2014 The maze of little Parisian streets in The Marais is always fun to visit and enjoy a stroll. So much French history can be explored in this area, plus there are many irresistible cafe’s, galleries and shops! Sometimes, a new treasure is discovered, which I found recently while scurrying down the rue de Parc Royal. Nestled in between an art gallery and a café, and only steps away from Musée Picasso and Musée Cognac Jay, is a charming boutique – Zoe Lee Shoes. Peering into the shop, it was evident that the designs were beautifully crafted and lovingly created.

The talented woman behind these must-have shoes is a cosmopolitan young lady, the daughter of a Japanese mother and Canadian father. Zoe Lee studied fashion design at Central St. Martin’s in London. However, she became interested in shoes, and continued her design studies at The Royal College of Art, where she was mentored by the shoe-king, Manolo Blahnik. Her impressive story includes working with Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Betty Jackson and John Rocha, plus she spent several years designing in Barcelona. Then she moved back to London, and during a visit to Paris, happened to find this boutique that was available. Lee successfully navigated infamous French bureaucracy to open her little boutique jewel last October.

“I’m inspired by everything – travel, exhibitions and seeing beautiful materials,” says Lee, “and I love leather and enjoy sourcing fabrics for the shoes. When I design, I like to cover different types of people who would like to wear the designs.” Family owned companies in Italy, who have been crafting fine shoes for three and four generations, make the shoes. The materials used in Zoe Lee shoes are luxurious and creative. Printed kidskin, bronzed patent, brushed linen, nubuck with laser techniques, and incredibly soft suede are all included in her shoe designs. I tried on several pairs and they feel wonderful – like a cosy hug for your feet. Zoe Lee’s innovative interpretations in materials add to the pleasure of wearing the shoes.

Zoe Lee is among the discerning accessory designers who value and appreciate haute couture quality, beautiful materials, and expert craftsmanship. When in Paris, definitely pop into her shop, and her shoes can be ordered online. Zoe also commented that her mother is an eyewear collector – Eyestylist looks forward to meeting her! www.zoelee.co.uk JG

Creative Director, Rigards, Hong Kong

1st January 2014 “My background is in apparel design and manufacturing, a somewhat logical extension of my lifelong interest in fashion and the technical construction of things,” says Ti Kwa, Creative Director of the buffalo horn specialist label, Rigards. “I started Rigards with my business partner Jean-Marc Virard, a French recording artiste, currently based in Los Angeles. Jean-Marc and I share a vision that combines the love for design and an appreciation for handcrafted eyewear. We met doing what we both enjoy— snooping around an old antique store, and now we’ve joined forces.”

Rigards first came to our attention in 2012 and since that time we are delighted to have seen the brand shooting to the attention of the optical sector, as well as the fashion industry, with specialist stockists appearing across the globe.
“I have been wearing glasses since I was 8 so I guess it’s no surprise that I’ve parlayed my boyhood fascination with how to make things into Rigards,” explains Ti. After a ton of research—we don’t claim to be experts but we certainly have learnt a few things,
having also experimented with acetate and wood—and we took the plunge with horn. With horn, we saw an opportunity to produce our eyeglasses under conditions we felt were optimal: traditional craftsmanship, exclusivity, and sustainability.”

Rigards represents not only artisanal craftsmanship, but also a desire to try new and different techniques. “Horn is a material that translates our aesthetic into a physical object, yes, of course,” – explains Kwa, “it’s also a medium that presents unparalleled textural possibilities—the freedom to go where our creative imaginings can take us. Each piece of horn is absolutely beautiful in its own way and as unique as your fingerprint. Horn is warm to the touch and allergen-free, and therefore very comfortable to wear. Working with horn is a painstaking, labour intensive and time-consuming process, but the result is incredibly satisfying. Understanding the aesthetics and behaviour of horn has enabled us to use a conventional material in unconventional ways, to create frames that are both compelling in their beauty and complementary to the times.”

“In the Japanese spirit of “kaizen”, our emphasis is also to improve on what we’ve done previously, to refine our collection on all fronts: superior lenses, hinges, techniques. Gradual steps rather than abrupt leaps. We also have a couple of collaborative projects in development—the who and how of which I’m going to keep under wraps for the moment.”

Rigards exhibits at Paris Fashion Week at least twice a year. The fashion forward audience appreciates their avant-garde designs and showing in Paris helps them to maintain a good relationship with the fashion industry. “The pleasures enlivened by traveling,” says Kwa, “and meeting old friends and new ones, and the city during the buzz of PFW, of course, never fail to be an enriching source of inspiration too.”

Asked about his interests outside eyewear, Kwa has many that are linked to design. “I have an obsession with collecting vintage finds: modernist furniture, 1940s phantom heads and, of course, antique eyewear. Travelling is what I do quite a bit these days and as tiring as that can get, it’s also invigorating to step out of my everyday routine to see and experience something foreign. I also enjoy discovering independent labels (a long-time favourite is Sarpaneva Watches from Finland), perhaps because we ourselves are an indie label. I like the idea of small-time designers with a stronger dedication to originality and quality being quiet revolutionaries in a culture of consume-and-discard. So my design aesthetic, I suppose, is influenced by a conglomeration of them all: my eclectic taste, my quasi-wanderlust, my affinity for good old craftsmanship.”

“We will be kicking off 2014 with a presentation at Opti Munich (Jan 10-12, Messe München, Hall C4 Booth 608). There’s always something special about the first time so we’re eagerly looking forward to the event—even if the weather forecasts suggest it will be bitterly cold. We’re also equally excited to be returning to our private showroom in Paris— please join us at Galerie de Thorigny on 1 place de Thorigny from January  16-20  2014. All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year. Happy 2014 to everyone, may all your new ventures be a galloping success!

www.rigards.com