Design + Inspiration

“Sometimes you need to get away from it all to make peace with reality”

Looking beyond. Always. This is Blackfin’s inspirational vision for life and eyewear. Now they take a new path: the search for the self, and looking at the world in new ways with open eyes  – in their new campaign – Spiritual Renaissance. Blackfin then expresses these discoveries with unique eyewear creations. To capture a natural backdrop that reflects the inner journey, the Italian brand chose the contrasting topography of Lanzarote – both magnificent and magical – with its ragged cliffs, lava rocks, desert wilderness and rolling ocean waves. (Top image: Brighton – Spiritual Renaissance by Blackfin)

Blackfin embarked on this campaign as a way to look into its company values; with the refusal to reject all that is standardised; striving for excellence; and never accepting conventional definitions. The frame designs – stunningly photographed by Giovanni De Sandre – visually illustrate the raw, rugged beauty of Lanzarote. The natural setting with its prolific extremes is effortlessly and simply transformed into eyewear that is totally streamlined, and unrestricted from all that is superfluous. Crafted from the purest titanium in Blackfin’s studios, the frames are superbly lightweight, yet strong and durable – just one of the attributes of premium, quality titanium. Sunglasses and optical styles demonstrate the versatility of titanium, with dramatic frame shapes that portray quiet luxury and sophistication.

Nicola Del Din,, CEO of Blackfin stated: “In 2018, keeping faith with our pay-off  ‘Looking beyond. Always’ we want to look beyond from a more inner, almost spiritual point of view. In recent years, the world has forgotten many essential ethical values, which it is trying to rediscover with considerable difficulty…in some cases, in a completely unnatural way. Blackfin has never lost those values, nor has it ever betrayed them. With the new campaign, we want to emphasise the importance of a general return to the true essence of things.” www.blackfin.eu JG

The 100% Optical fair takes place in London this weekend. Several new exhibitors were announced in the last week, including Blackfin from Italy, David Green from South Africa and Hemp Eyewear from Scotland… as well as the iconic brand l.a. Eyeworks, from California!

Blackfin will bring its state-of-the-art titanium collection, recently updated with new colours and elegant layered silhouettes that play with colour contrasts and a spectacular frame-on-frame effect. Above: Blackfin is known for its expertise in titanium production. The frame pictured is the award-winning ARC BF822. www.blackfin.eu

Also confirmed this week is the very latest collection from l.a. Eyeworks. The Los Angeles company has long had a successful presence in the UK at stores that include Jones and Co. (Manchester), Frames in the Lanes (Brighton) and Grey St Optician (Newcastle). Style highlights include colour expertise and characterful shapes: in cateye model Ferris the bespoke lens inserts create dynamic interplays of colour and pattern. Visit their stand and look at their new season colours at www.laeyeworks.com

Tavat Eyewear, famous for the SoupCan design, returns to 100% from their HQ in Italy, to unveil the “Tactile” models in London, designs which focus on a timeless, tasteful aesthetic whilst offering the ultimate in functionality and design precision. The four new acetate shapes have a 3-step minimal hinge design and unusual pin-stripe laser treatment, forming a pattern inspired by the design of Italy’s famous ‘Riva’ boat. Find out more at www.tavateyewear.com

100% takes place at ExCel in London from 27th to 29th January. For more details and a list of the final confirmed exhibitors visit www.100percentoptical.com. We wish everyone an excellent visit to London! CN

A showcase for leaders in international optics, the January fair in Munich provided more innovation, creative trends and design finesse than ever before, with eyewear by international creatives and designers, including ambitious start-ups and young fresh labels, showing in the beautifully presented Opti Boxes.

The fair organised a tour for fashion and eyewear influencers who travelled from across Germany and further afield to meet designers and learn about eyewear technology, new directions and design for the future.

Young label Nina Mûr from Madrid were the winners of Opti’s Blogger Spectacle Award, an initiative that was launched last year by the show, which helps promote innovative newcomers. (Last year the Barcelona brand LOOL Eyewear were awarded the prize).  Above: Nina Mûr latest designs from the Memphis Collection, in collaboration with Abet Laminati. The line is inspired by the work of artist Ettore Sottsass.

Many notable collections are now launched specifically for the Munich fair, given the excellent far-reaching attendance of opticians from across Europe. Eyestylist will report on the outstanding examples in the coming weeks. They included the Cinematiq Collection from Budapest, which features handmade acetate frames with original vintage film footage in the temples. The frames are a creation by Zack Tipton (Tipton Eyeworks), the designer behind the much loved VINYLIZE brand, which has developed the ultimate designer “recycled” frame collections made by hand from discarded vinyl records. Find out more at https://vinylize.com / and https://cinematiqeyewear.com/

Always a highlight at the optical fairs, Rigards continues to explore natural and less usual materials with new masterpieces handcrafted in copper by talented artisan designer Ti Kwa; the perfectly formed small round glasses shown (model RG0104CU) have an intricate interchangeable front that “locks” onto the front of the copper frame. This design was, quite deservedly, one of the most photographed during the fair. www.rigards.com

Eyestylist.com extends thanks to OPTI-Munich for an excellent welcome at the show. The next Opti fair will take place from the 25th to 27th January 2019 at the Fairground Munich. www.opti.de CN