29th April 2011 To celebrate the wedding, and to pay hommage to British couture brand Alexander McQueen, and Sarah Burton, the designer of Ms. Middleton’s wedding dress, a gorgeous fairy tale design, featuring elegant handmade lace…
This is one of the McQueen sunglass styles currently in the shops….it’s a clean simple design, that would make a wonderful memento of the occasion, with the classic McQueen skull head featured in miniature. www.alexandermcqueen.com CN
24th March, 2011 Here is one my favourite new sunglass collections for Spring/Summer…the ‘Trees’ Series from Theo by Tim Van Steenbergen. The radiant colours are inspired by nature and the metal temple refers to the structure and textured patterns of a tree trunk. This concept is reflected in the names of the sunglasses…Oak, Beech, Pine, Maple Spruce and Ash.
Belgian fashion designer Tim Van Steenbergen (www.timvansteenbergen.com) has created a clothing collection which tells the story of “the lady gardener,” who loves nature and likes to be a part of it. The designer is inspired by the way flowers and plants move and grow. The same ideas are developed in the ‘Trees’ Series. Just as in the fabrics, various natural colours reappear in the glasses – for example, green and brown. He also refers to natural materials such as horn, wood and marble. Sparkling floral colours such as red, purple and coral complete the range of colours.
To complement the luxurious design of the series, Theo has chosen Zeiss sun lenses for quality UV protection. The lenses feature a “rock-hard” 5-layer antireflection coating. A very special addition to a very creative and beautiful collection. CN
London, 24th February, 2011 – Sunglasses are generally well represented at London Fashion Week both on and off the catwalks, thanks to British fashion favourite Cutler & Gross whose vintage shades are always a popular fashion editor’s choice. Specs tend to get slightly less of a showing, although I’ve been sent a few images this year…this one features Andy Wolf Eyewear which got an amazing showing on the models at the Irwin & Jordan show on Friday.
Andy Wolf Eyewear is based in Austria where its products are handmade. Launched in 2006, the brand has become known as a niche label offering style and elegance and beautifully crafted vintage effect styling…but without compromising on the functionality and wearability of the product. Hoping to see this one again in Milan next week. CN
At the start of this new episode, we will review 5 optical frames and 5 sunglasses each month. The aim is to pick out some of the trends, and products with a special design, feature or technical attribute that we believe meet our goal in this “quest” for the best eyewear and sunglasses from around the world. Our aim is not to overload our readers – but to create a personal selection of individual pieces which we believe are representative of our times, unique in their features and absolutely worth a peep if you are into eyewear, sell glasses or sunglasses, or if you simply want to find a style for yourself that stands out from the crowd. We are fastidious about recommending quality designs. We are also pleased to hear other views and experiences so please feel free to contact us with any thoughts. Our other stories are about all kinds of subjects linked to eyewear: shops we have discovered on our travels, trends that are coming up; new gorgeous accessories; fabulous kid’s products; click on our Editorial Calendar for more…
An interesting new partnership, Vuarnet is now part-owned by Alain Mikli. The brand has been revamped and promises sports edge and serious design, with new technical activity-specific lenses including Citylynx, a lens offering visual comfort for town and city, and Skilynx, for winter sports and particularly skiing. Vuarnet by Mikli is available from 2011, and whilst a number of the styles are perfect for the slopes, the range also offers some very wearable designs for winter sun in the city.
And of course, Vuarnet Vintage styles are going to be in fashion for their wonderful classic shapes and French “flavour”. It’s a brand that has a strong heritage and has earned, without doubt, a prestigious place in sunglass design history.