Jubilee festivities resonate – as Kirk & Kirk salutes the 100th anniversary of the renowned British brand, with a stunning new range of beautiful designs in exquisite colours – The Centena Collection. Jason and Karen Kirk – the guiding force bringing the label and its optical history into the next century – commented: “The Centena Collection is important to Kirk & Kirk, as it is an embodiment of the celebration of the Kirk family’s one hundred year history in optics. (Top image: Dennisin in Crystal; Sarah in Walnut; Esme in Crimson; Cecil in Tiger; Sidney in Corn from The Centena Collection)
“Ever since Sidney and Percy Kirk converted a sewing machine into a lens cutter back in 1919, the Kirk family has innovated eyewear, offering technical or stylistic approaches that are designed to excite and inspire. The Centena Collection mirrors this enthusiasm with its use of acrylic, an unconventional, avant-garde material that is featherweight – and incredibly comfortable to wear. We have used 10mm acrylic for this collection which has been such fun to work with. Each frame is like an individual sculpture featuring beautiful angles to exploit the glasslike properties of the material.”
Acrylic is not only lightweight – it is strong and durable. The colours are luxurious – Iris, Tiger, Corn, Crystal, Crimson, Walnut, Sage and Royal. Designs are bold and strong manifesting the confident colours that re-enforce Jason and Karen Kirk’s philosophy that fine eyewear is made to be experienced – and enjoyed. Visit www.kirkandkirk.com for more CENTENA details – and other optical and sunglass designs. JG
Hall of Frames Zurich 10th Anniversary edition
Celebrations accompanied the 10th anniversary edition of Hall of Frames Zurich, which took place in “Papiersaal” in Sihlcity in the centre of town. Organiser Nathanaël Wenger noted: “Forty-four exhibitors presented their autumn designs over two floors with the urban style of the former paper mill relating well with the design claim of Hall of Frames. Almost all Swiss Eyewear brands were present, including Newcomers Baselli; Fussungswerk; Specs Lab and Nirvan Javan, and interior designer Martha Arenas. Others are well established like Götti; Didier Voirol; Einstoffen and Von Arkel.(above image left to right) Marco and Rico Rihm Specs Lab Zurich; Martha Arenas Interior Designer; Nathanaël Wenger HOF Zurich organiser; Joan Grady Co-Founder Eyestylist.com; Sven Götti Götti Switzerland; Birgitte Falvin Falvin Eyewear
“It’s great that the designers use Hall of Frames to show their work together with other well-known international eyewear designers.” Among others participating included: Any Di from Germany; Rolf Spectacles, Andy Wolf and neubau from Austria; Falvin and Orgreen from Scandinavia; Vasuma from Sweden; Blackfin in Italy; Vinylise from Budapest, and Face à Face in France.
The occasion was highlighted with a celebration dinner on the Sunday evening, organised by Nath Wenger with superb food, in the atmospheric restaurant “Rüsterei” in the Papiersaal venue. “Approximately fifty opticians and exhibitors shared and enjoyed a pleasant evening together,” said Nath, “with a relaxed atmosphere, and exhibitors and visitors felt very comfortable in the location.”
With the positive feedback, the show will again be held in Papiersaal for the 2019 event. Note the dates now – 22nd and 23rd September 2019 – one week before Silmo Paris.
In the meantime, Eyestylist will keep you up to date on events and exhibitors for next year’s Hall of Frames Zurich at Papiersaal. www.hallofframes.ch JG Photos exclusively for Hall of Frames Zurich by Robert Gose All Rights Reserved
Consummate colour
Eyewear colour has realised new heights and horizons this season with boldness, creativity and the surprisingly unexpected. Whether you favour serene and subdued, or bright and energetic colourations – the vast selection of eyewear hues affords endless possibilities for spectacle wearers. Res/Rei celebrates colour (above) with unique combinations in custom-crafted acetates, all handmade in Italy. Ortensia is the latest addition to the Res/Rei collection of stunning optical and sunglass designs. www.resrei.com
Exclusive colour tint lenses by Carl Zeiss take centre stage at Anna-Karin Karlsson with her glamorous Full Moon sunglasses, inspired by the colour of the sky where Anna-Karin lives in the Stockholm Archipelago. www.annakarinkarlsson.com
Nowadays, Graffiti is everywhere – so why not eyewear? Theo has the solution with The Graffiti Collection designed by Serge Bracké that implements fabulous colourations that automatically stimulates the ultimate street cred. www.theo.be
Finest Seven brings spirited colour to their plated surgical stainless steel sun specs – Zero 14 – with a striking inner acetate rim in bright orange. Voluminous in shape, the frames are superbly lightweight. Visit www.finestseven.com for more sleek designs.
Soft shades of pink with a hint of rose feature in eyewear with Sandbridge by Blackfin – suggesting a delicate yet dramatic, expressive style. The unique titanium frame structure with its sophisticated colouration is totally handcrafted by Italian artisans. www.blackfin.eu JG
SpiltMilk Eyewear (NYC): exclusive launch
The New York eyewear scene continues to see a healthy surge in creativity and directional trends. This month sees the launch of yet another newcomer called SpiltMilk Eyewear, set up with the creative input from the NYC based designer Vidal Erkohen (RVS Eyewear). Made in Japan, with focus on quality standards and innovative design concepts with a global inspiration, the collection is proposing some experimental ideas “to represent the conjunction between fashion and culture” and builds from a high-energy colour palette – on point for SS19.
In the mix for the launching collections of sunnies are designs that combine two shapes in one (Bali), a super round shape with inner rim connected with an open wire mesh (Bora Bora), a detailed aviator statement piece (Maldives) and a narrow elongated trendy wire form that is slightly upswept – in chic combos such as lime with scarlet and pastel pink with black (Phi Phi).
The new brand has been under development since 2017, and is owned by Saif Ghobash (London) and Judge Khanna (NYC) – a New York based accessories designer. Spilt Milk launches its first sunglasses collection at the end of October and goes online shortly at www.spiltmilkeyewear.com. CN
Rolf Spectacles launches Titanium Skyline
The award winning Austrian label – Rolf Spectacles – excels in moving beyond barriers to create new possibilities and horizons. When the company launched, Tyrol woods were crafted into superb quality frames. Then there were unique designs in stone, and luxurious buffalo horn frames. For their latest eyewear adventure, Rolf has launched a Titanium collection with fresh innovations.
The Titanium Skyline Collection includes sixteen designs for prescription glasses, and six sun styles. Technical engineering is evident with intricate detailing, so finely optimised, and the frames are amazingly slim and light. The glasses are made with only three major components, so therefore, highly flexible, as well as sturdy. Finishes are smooth and sleek, or beautifully textured.
Rolf stated: “Our mission is to follow our vision, to create new things never seen before, and to set new trends while remaining true to our roots.” For more information on the distinctive Titanium Skyline Collection – visit www.rolf-spectacles.com JG