Creative spirits

Jess Lawrence (@jessylaw) has reached a place that many fashion-orientated young people can only dream of: influencer, businesswoman, model and style icon – she is also famously known for her infinite curated collection of sneakers. Jess graduated from university with a BA in English Language and Literature. From there she went to Expedia where she first worked officially with, and fostered her talents in social media – but her ambition, hunger and passion for a career in the fashion industry was not satisfied. She moved to a position at U-Magazine, went from success to success in different aspects of her career, and then secured her current position as the social media manager of Vogue Business. Eyestylist met with Jess – albeit virtually – and her creative and warm personality easily radiated through the screen, as did her immaculate unique sense of fashion.

What have been your biggest personal and professional challenges throughout the pandemic? Do you think the past year has had an impact on the fashion industry as a whole? If so, what impact? From a work perspective and a personal perspective, I’m a really in-person kind of person. I really respond to the environment I’m in; energy, movement and things like that are so important – especially in an industry like fashion, that is so vibrant in nature. I think it’s difficult for us to have such an integral part of our professional atmosphere taken away; fashion week, events, presentations, photoshoots – they’re all the reasons we want to get into fashion, most of our inspiration is taken from real people doing real things – when that’s gone, what are we left with? Everything is online, you have to see the world through a screen; the environment created is one that doesn’t really promote inspiration. However, although there has been a significantly negative impact, the positive progression regarding sustainability within the industry is immeasurable. In terms of technology capabilities like VR and AR which have really evolved, and also I think we have learned what works and what doesn’t – we have seen that though it is possible to make fashion week virtual, attendance is really low and there just isn’t an appetite for it – people crave the real time, lived experience and are eager to get back to that. One thing I am sure of is that when we do come back into the real world, we’ll take a lot of these learnings from this time with us, and in applying them we will create a better industry as a whole.

The ‘sustainability’ buzz words are everywhere at the moment – without making this a leading question – I personally do try and be as sustainable as I can be and would consider myself pretty passionate about sustainability, but, in the nature of the industry we both work in – that can be hard. What does sustainability mean to you? What do you do if anything in order to “consume consciously” / be sustainable? I think everyone is at home, plugged in and really focused on what is going on outside their windows; now more than ever people are wanting to improve the world we live in, so that when we can go back out there it’s ready to greet us with open arms. Highlighting the problems and inconsistencies within the industry regarding sustainability is necessary and I welcome it – it’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind, designers, manufacturers and consumers are taking it into account more than ever before. One of the main things I have done myself to ‘consume consciously’ is eliminating any / all fast-fashion from my purchasing totally. I think that really happened when I joined Vogue Business – it’s like a switch flipped; once you know how bad it is, you can’t really go back to it. The biggest obstacle we face in this area is how to reduce the price-point of sustainably made clothing; we need to make it more widely accessible to more people – apps like Depop and eBay are an amazing resource for this reason, but if we want sustainable fashion to replace fast-fashion, it needs to be able to compete with it at that price point where younger consumers can engage with it. I can see many exciting changes happening in the next months and years to come. (more…)

Imagine the beautiful concept of an eyewear brand born in the hills of the Brazilian countryside, founded by an architect and a ballet dancer – the result is indeed as dreamlike as it sounds. Gisela and Gustavo Assis – the founders of LAPIMA, met at a very young age and rekindled their connection later in life resulting in the creation of a beautiful family, and an ethereal collection of high-quality, handcrafted artisan frames.

I understand that Gisela had trained towards a career as a classical ballet dancer for years and Gustavo also hoped to become an architect – tell us a little about the journey these incredibly diverse careers took to get you both crossing paths with each other, and eventually culminating in the creation of LAPIMA…It’s funny, since we were both little we had an appreciation for art and beauty. When we met, I had just quit dancing and Gustavo had just gotten into university studying business – not architecture – so, we were both quite frustrated. However, together we managed to deal with it and found other artistic forms to nurture our creativity such as going to art museums, visiting theatres, attending performances and movies together. Slowly, we discovered we had a lot more in common, and the results of that discovery have been our three children, as well as our fourth child: LAPIMA.

Would either of you say that your experiences and inspirations that may have been derived from two such creative industries – as dance and architecture have been reflected in the branding of LAPIMA, or in LAPIMA frames in any way?

Absolutely! Movement is a huge inspiration in the creation of our frames; a model that does not move is hard for us to photograph, because the surfaces of glasses don’t reflect light fluidly, so without movement – the images would never get Gustavo’s approval. We love creating geometric images, using colorful sets and frames, playing classical music, bossa nova and rock and roll. We are never silent or still.

A huge part of your own individual identities as well as the LAPIMA brand identity is Brazilian culture and pride in Brazil’s vast, beautiful landscapes – what was process like in setting up your own production site in your home country?

We love our country, and we chose to be here and to raise our kids here, so to build a business in our hometown was a very natural process for us. Campinas was once an eyewear hub for many decades – prior to Brazil opening our economy to the world – and there are a lot of experienced artisans in the city. We managed to find them, learn from them, share our dream with them and build LAPIMA together. It is a great feeling to know we are also preserving the craftsmanship of our town and developing our own community by providing jobs in the process. LAPIMA’S office and atelier are in the same building and only ten minutes away from where we live. This allows us to bring our kids to school, have lunch with them, be at home for dinner and still be in the office in the morning and afternoon – that is quite a privilege, especially these days.

In a 2019 article W Magazine described your lenses as the “new old Celine” – a complimentary comparison to make in the world of eyewear, what are your thoughts on this statement?

It was indeed a huge compliment; we are very honored and proud of the work we are doing. To be compared to such an admirable maison is not simple, and it brings huge responsibilities, but we are determined to keep being original, creative and avant-garde. Compliments like this motivate us, and move us forward.

LAPIMA outsources their product materials from Europe; German hinges, to French lenses and Italian acetate – this of course enables the quality of the products to be among the finest in Brazilian eyewear, however, considering the growing demand for self-sustaining businesses and sustainably sourced materials – would LAPIMA ever consider potentially insourcing from Brazil?

It would be amazing if we could find the same acetate, lenses and hinges of the same quality in our country – but unfortunately that is not the reality – in order to keep the high-end status of our products, we need the best materials. On the other hand, we handcraft each piece in our atelier from start to finish; the artisans who are employed by us can continue to use their own art form without being substituted by a machine, as in big factories. To stay sustainable, we make it a priority to not keep stock, in our attempts to do so we only produce in small batches of product to limit waste; we work on demand and only start production after an order has been received.

You have both succeeded in creating a beautiful brand that takes ‘vintage’ inspiration and combines it with elements of modernity, creating unique, timeless and artistic frames – does LAPIMA have any exciting plans to evolve or progress further in eyewear, or perhaps further into the fashion industry, in the near future?

Thank you for those compliments! We know LAPIMA still has a long path ahead in the eyewear and in the fashion market, but this doesn’t phase us; we have a lot to show the world. We are excited to have recently launched our optical collection as well as our new storefront in Brazil. Collaborations with fashion brands are certainly on LAPIMA’S radar…

For more information about the new LAPIMA store visit:www.eyestylist.com/2020/12/lapima-shop-opens-in-brazil/ – visit LAPIMA’s website at www.lapima.com An exclusive Eyestylist interview by Victoria G. L. Brunton.

Cristiano Ferilli is a qualified ophthalmologist by day and a designer by night. If that alone doesn’t strike you as an accomplishment, Cristiano founded Ferilli Eyewear; the first eyewear brand to use cactus fibre – Sikalindi – in the manufacture of their Italian-made frames.

Cristiano, you speak of falling in love with the world of eyewear at the age of sixteen – forgive me if this is a backwards notion, but it’s perhaps quite an unusual attraction for a young boy to develop at such an age – how did this passion first ignite? When you’re a 16-year-old boy, I believe that you normally have a secret wish in life – it’s up to you to truly believe in that wish and make it come true. I think what pushed me back then was attending the Mido 2010 trade show and seeing so many sunglasses made with different kinds of materials. I said to myself then that when I was older, I would discover my own material to create my sunglasses.

Would you be able to tell us a little about your career path, did you always envision yourself working within the fashion industry? No, not at all. After getting an optician’s diploma at high school, I graduated with a degree in Orthoptic and Ophthalmologic Assistance, continuing that career path in clinics and hospitals. However, right after university I made my first sunglasses collection; I believed in it so passionately that Ferilli Eyewear has become my job today. While I’m busy with work as an orthoptist in a clinic, I’m also committed to creative projects as a designer for my brand.

How is it that your brand Ferilli goes beyond the concept of ‘just an accessory’? Prickly pear fibre creates a very particular pattern on every frame. I like to think that they are not just sunglasses, but they can be considered a fully-fledged design element that add a unique touch to a look, and that they are a distinctive feature that help define the wearer’s personality. Moreover, I care about the functionality of my sunglasses, not only about their design, and this applies also to the choice of lens.

Being the only brand of eyewear that uses Sikalindi is an amazing claim to be able to make, especially in an industry where the consumer is growing more aware of the impact of their purchases, and many brands are trying to find the newest, most innovative way to forge a sustainable future – tell us a bit more about producing frames with Sikalindi? In the region where I live – Puglia, in southern Italy – prickly pears are fast-growing plants, and sometimes there are so many of them that entire areas need to be cut down and thinned out. To obtain the fibre itself, we dehydrate the leaves of the plants through various physical processes – but without using chemical agents or pollutants. In this way we can extract the material we need, while respecting the environment and the natural cycle of the plant.

I assume you subscribe to the idea that the consumer needs to  ‘buy smart’ and ‘buy less’ in order for our planet and resources to survive? Why should the consumer invest in a pair of Ferilli sunglasses, in your opinion? Our products guarantee functionality from a technical point of view and they are made with a unique, sustainable material. Our aim is to be creative and innovative producing naturally beautiful sunglasses that respect the environment.

Finally, your website says that you hope to develop some new ‘sparkling ideas’ in the future – is there anything on the horizon? I can tell you that the prickly pear fibre will be incorporated into other materials, and we are meticulously studying new models that will amaze you!

To find out more about Ferilli visit www.ferillieyewear.com. Interview by Victoria G. L. Brunton exclusively for Eyestylist.com