Design + Inspiration

Soft, pastel colours in fashion and eyewear create a refreshing tone when summer temperatures are sizzling. Airy and light, a pastel palette flows with revitalising ambience. Frames with muted intonations highlight designer collections – here are elegant choices to welcome record-breaking temperatures with cool poise – and style savvy. Pretty in pink…(above) Swiss brand Sol Sol Ito 019 AC in delicate pink acetate, sprinkled with glitter. www.solsolito.com

Jono Hennessy’s Limited Edition style 8449 is available in an alluring array of colours: aquamarine (above) plus tea rose, sky blue, and pistachio. www.jonohennessy.com

Cool and classy – Res/Rei’s Cocktail Collection includes streamlined Daiquiri in high-density Mazzucchelli acetate. www.resrei.com

Glamour and glitter: Bang Bang Baby by Anna-Karin Karlsson combines 24K Gold Plated stainless steel and acetate with graceful muted tones, and sparkling Swarovski Crystals. www.annakarinkarlsson.com

SALT. Optics Landry – its purity of line in Lemon acetate reflects bracingly chilled lemonade on a shaded terrace. www.saltoptics.com

Karmoie’s sleek frame Player in Twig is meticulously crafted with beautiful proportions and fine details. www.karmoie.com JG

A different site and new eyewear brands create a stimulating and exciting platform for the 2018 edition of Die Brillenmesse Stuttgart. Garage 229 is the ultra-spacious location, an Art Deco building with convenient access, lighting, and a favourite setting for music and motor events. On 13th and 14th October, Garage 229 will host independent eyewear designers – featuring well-established labels and recent launches. The award winning Swiss brand Götti sets the scene with stunning designs that include the beautifully crafted 3D Dimension (above) the technically brilliant Perspective Collection; and the elegant Götti Switzerland Collection. www.gotti.ch

The colour spectrum is re-invented by 450 Ultra Limited with their expressive eyewear designs. Bolzano is among the unique frames crafted in Italy that will be presented in Stuttgart. www.450vision.com

Mazzucchelli taupe acetate silhouettes the contemporary and streamlined design by NIRVAN JAVIN, from the beautiful Swiss-designed collection of optical frames and sunglasses.  www.nirvanjavan.com

Timeless designs by Koberg in Germany combine stainless steel and acetate in style 6998 with metallic lacquer details and acetate end tips. Discover more at www.koberg-brillen.de

Mark those dates now! October 13th and 14th for Die Brillenmesse Stuttgart in a unique, divergent  venue – Garage 229. www.diebrillenmesse.de JG

Ten years ago, Nathanael Wenger conceived a contemporary concept for an eyewear event – Hall of Frames Zurich. Artisan, independent brands would be featured, and Wenger was keen to find a unique location with sufficient space, amenities, and an historic past – blending both modern marketing techinques – with memorable, entertaining potential. He succeeded with Papiersaal, a noteworthy industrial building in central Zurich that is surrounded by modern architecture. With its convenient location the hall specialises in private, corporate and public events.

For a period, HOF Zurich was in other locations; now for the 10th anniversary of this annual eyewear event, the show returns to Papiersaal for a gala showcase of prestigious eyewear specialists. Participants include leading brands featured in the finest optical boutiques – including Götti Switzerland; Neubau Eyewear; Orgreen Optics; Von Arkel; Woow Eyewear; Falvin; Blackfin; Coblens; Face à Face Paris; and Specs Lab Zurich among other ultra-quality labels. Von Arkel (top image) will present their elegant designs including style 0807-001 from the Entourage Buffalo horn/Caliber 9 collection. www.vonarkel.com

Timeless designs in a variety of intriguing shapes feature at Coblens – the German label noted for its distinctive double-bridge styles. www.coblens.com

Bold and imaginative colours highlight Face à Face Paris frames in acetate (above) plus acetate and aluminium combinations. www.faceaface-paris.com

Retro and futuristic elements harmonise in Silverdale BF828 from the Blackfin Black Edition designs. The exclusive finish is possible with the Blackfin Nano-Plating treatment. www.blackfin.eu

Come join the fun – both business and pleasure – at Hall of Frames Zurich – 07-08 October at Papiersaal. www.hallofframes.ch JG

The charm of current trends in eyewear and the effect of ground-breaking technological advancements is nowhere more evident than in the men’s eclectic eyewear collections. Gone are the ordinary shapes and lack lustre colours, replaced by specs styles with beautiful  finishes, colour enhancements, tiny embellishments or special details to catch the eye.

Materials are a particular mode of expression for this new direction, whether traditional (with a new colour proposal) or more avantgarde or complex in how the final result is achieved.

Above: Illustrating an acute attention to details to create an effect: Original Penguin’s the Moocher, which has the look of a suspended lens, with a coloured frame and crystal inner eye rim. www.kenmarkeyewear.com

For luxury, acetate model 9256 by the Australian eyewear brand Carter Bond, designed by Jono Hennessy, concentrates on a superb tonal range: colours in the latest WONDERLUST collection emerge from a naturally deep base of woodland and camouflage torts. Softer shades blend together into a range that has been designed “to work with their tonal partners and textural contrasts.” www.carterbond.com

Kafée Racer, a new capsule collection from Tavat Eyewear, is the result of a design competition run at the Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, California. The winning student, Miguel Harry, went on to collaborate on a statement piece with the brand, inspired by the world of Café Racing, striving to produce eyewear with the functional and aesthetic elements of the classic motorcycles. Tavat saw this piece at a perfect addition to the collection, which focuses on combining form with function and designing technical eyewear with purpose. www.tavat-eyewear.com

The beautiful originality of the vinyl frames in Tipton’s Vinylize collection comes from their texture and striped coloration, as well as their understated shapes. The frames are produced in Budapest, and hand finished with quality features such as resistant 3 barrel hinges. For further details visit www.vinylize.com

With a camo colour theme, and expertly finished bevelling which lends a sculptured effect to temples, Claire Goldsmith’s model Hendrix is a bold chic statement in her latest collection that pays attention to classic highlights – such as the tiny traditional double rivets at the temples – with a heritage that includes the most eloquent of celebrity endorsements for this type of chunky acetate design, notably the British actor Michael Caine. www.olivergoldsmith.com CN