Design + Inspiration

Music is a powerful influence for artists, painters, and eyewear designers. The beauty, elegance and refinement of music inspire Charmant’s lyrical collection of eyewear (above XL2068). Line Art Charmant is a rare synergy of technological achievement and aesthetic perfection. Each exquisite handmade frame is crafted in Excellence Titan – a material that combines lightness and strength, durability, flexibility, with superb memory function, and is hypoallergenic.

View the video to see close up the perfect combination of contemporary luxury, impeccable design and sophistication in the new Line Art Charmant collection.

The latest designs include streamlined sensuality evident in XL2093 from The Duo Collection, with Swarovski Crystals in subtle monochromatic colourations. Visit www.charmant.com for more exclusive feminine eyewear designs by Line Art Charmant. JG

The twin-spired Cathedral, Museum Ludwig and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum are among the many treasures to be found in the two thousand year old city of Cologne, Germany. Located on the historic Rhine River, the city is a major centre for the Rhineland, with numerous cultural landmarks. This weekend – May 6-7 – Cologne is the landmark destination for creative eyewear by independent designers. The 2017 edition of Die Brillenmesse will be held at Dock One on the banks of the Rhine.

A superb line up of new and established eyewear creators will present their latest optical and sunglass collections. Participants include Götti Switzerland; Lafont Paris; Adrian Marwitz; Orgreen; Andy Wolf Eyewear; Miamai; Von Arkel; Pride Eyewear; Anne et Valentin; and Blackfin among many others. Vintage eyewear specialists Alexander Dosiehn and Christian Metzler will be on hand with items from their fabulous retro collections. In addition, both Saturday and Sunday, there will be Think Tank seminars with informative presentations on marketing, social media, technology and other topics. Die Brillenmesse Köln is the perfect opportunity to view Blackfin’s glamorous summer sunglasses (top image: Oyster Bay), along with their chic optical designs with evocative shapes, and inspiring technology. www.blackfin.eu

Götti Switzerland is presenting several exciting collections with optical and sunglass selections: elegant rimless designs from Götti Perspective, the superbly crafted Götti Dimension –  3D printed eyewear, and lightweight beauties in ultrathin titanium, including Lynn (above). www.gotti.ch

A passion for Cazal eyewear led Alexander Dosiehn to become an avid collector of the German made frames. Doshien recalled: “The more I was into Cazal, the more models I discovered that I couldn’t miss. I guess it’s the same principle for everyone collecting something; the more you dive into it, the more you get addicted. Most of the time it’s the hunt, not the treasure!” www.dosiehn.com

Pride Eyewear launched in 2015 and the Italian brand has already garnered a prestigious Silmo d’Or award. Their latest collection will be presented in Cologne – frames with distinctive shapes, a  unique blend of technologies and materials, and fabulous colours. Crafting eyewear is truly an Italian art form, and all Pride eyewear is handmade in Italy. www.prideeyewear.it

Provocative shapes, materials, and fabulous lenses highlight the Venice based Barberini Eyewear collections. Specialist glass lenses are a Barberini heritage, including the trademark Platinum Glass, available in fantastic colours. www.barberinieyewear.it

Discover for yourself inspirational, glamorous and unusual fashion forward eyewear at Die Brillenmesse Köln May 6-7 at Dock One. More details at www.diebrillenmesse.de JG

2017 represents an invigorating moment of achievement at Ørgreen Optics, the Danish eyewear design company that has become synonymous with cutting-edge minimal titanium frames, produced in Japan. The mood this year is all about eyewear excellence and the driving force of the label, innovation, experimentation and design expertise as they celebrate 20 years.

Eyestylist met Henrik Ørgreen for a taste of what’s coming over cocktails at Brønnum, a favourite haunt of the Danish entrepreneur who lives just round the corner. “We are seen as a pioneering design company, and that is what we are celebrating again. We have started this year with several new Limited Editions, and there is a lot more to show including a huge focus on our company’s proven technical capabilities through a new concept we will launch at Silmo and a reexploration of our roots and the materials we first came to market with. 2018 is going to represent another key phase for us as we must keep improving what we do through exploration and pushing our capabilities that little bit further once again. There are very many collections out there today and I always benchmark with that and challenge it.”

“Already the year has shown the dynamic attitude of the team with the launch of new Limited Editions and more to come.” High End High Tech is one of those new releases (above). Two round panto styles complementing each other in colour and in shape, and focused on technology with digitally inspired colours and the titanium material, known as a Nasa favourite for spacecraft construction.

The square style Rook (above) and more rounded Taurus are part of the Out of Orbit Capsule. Rook is named after Montes Rook, the ring-shaped mountain range on the far side of the moon that’s only visible from the edge from Earth. The exciting colour options include allusions to lunar rock formations and stone-effect surface patterns – a first in titanium, and perfectly in keeping with the mood of experimentation seen at Opti Munich where the On Fire collection – featuring “out-there” frames with a “burnt surface” – were first on display. For more details on the new Collections launching at Ørgreen Optics keep your eye on www.orgreenoptics.com CN

Elegance, beauty and technology convene in ARA – the natural buffalo horn frame by MONOCEROS that was honoured with the Red Dot Design Award in the fashion design category for exceptional design concept. For over sixty years, Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany has presented the prestigious award for design innovation. The Austrian brand MONOCEROS won for their unique eyewear made from a single piece of eco-friendly buffalo horn.

Specific horn processing technologies developed by a small group of creators at MONOCEROS have enabled this noble material to be transformed into stunning eyewear. ARA’s contemporary silhouette is stylish, sophisticated and durable. Congratulations to MONOCEROS on the receipt of the Red Dot Award. www.monoceros.cc JG