Design + Inspiration | Eyestylist

Trend watch: new florals for 2012

2nd November 2011

Greek designer Mary Katrantzou (www.marykatranzou.com) showed at London Fashion Week and walked away with some well-earned rave reviews for her head-to-toe floral creations, which are so imaginative and intricate.

To my delight there are some terrific new print designs coming up in eyewear too…and some eyewear designers have taken painstaking steps to create techniques for doing this which are really impressive. One example of a statement print frame for women, using florals and animal prints through the range, is this sweet shape below from Australia’s Jono Hennessy. Watch this space for our selection of the stand-out fabric styles in the months ahead….www.jonohennesy.com CN

MIDO 6-8 February 2027. Welcome to Eyewearland

LOFT Santa Monica Show October 16th and 17th

Image above: Mary Katrantzou London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012. Source: www.londonfashionweek.com Credit: catwalking.com

SONY DSC — Fabric Frames by Jono Hennessy

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Austrian Designers

7th October 2011

Klaus Huber at Robert La Roche

28th October 2011 The next stop on our Austrian eyewear tour is to meet Klaus Huber, designer at Robert La Roche, the iconic brand who has been creating statement frames since the 1970’s. Klaus shares his design philosophy with Eyestylist.

“My inspiration for designs is life – it means that I travel a lot. In doing so, I let myself be inspired by urban life, even by the city I am living in. Vienna gives me a special attitude towards Imperial life, the culture and arts of a modern global city. Coupled with the past, it is a perfect ‘Viennese mélange’ – a Viennese coffee mixture. My approach to design is, as with sculptors, working on mass, which is brought by condensation or rejuvenation, into flowing forms. For me, haptics (the science applying tactile touch), sensation and control, plus interaction with computer application, is very important; facets and sloping areas guarantee a special look. Even the surface of the frame is specially shaped, which requires the best manual skills. We produce in Europe/Japan to achieve optimum quality. But it is getting more and more difficult to obtain the highest standards with competitive prices.

“Of course, I love to work with acetate – it feels silky, soft and warm. It is the kind of material where you can feel the special process in our glasses. I try to take care of Robert La Roche’s heritage. I don’t see myself as a caretaker. I rather want to bring the spirit of the past into the present, and develop it further into the future.” www.robert-laroche.com JG

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Trend watch: laser engraving

1st September 2011

JF2431 from J.F. Rey

26th September 2011 Laser engraving technology has become increasingly used in eyewear for a variety of effects on the surface of the frame. This exciting design is a very good example, with its modern textured effect and out-there gold colour scheme. It comes from J.F. Rey, the French brand from Marseille. Inspired by the graphic arts, the design has been shortlisted for the Silmo d’Or design award this week. For more on J.F. Rey visit www.jfrey.fr CN

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Accessories: frame holders in wood and horn

1st September 2011

5th September 2011 The French designer Caroline Abram of Filao Paris is to launch these frame holders in horn and wood at the end of September. With so few companies in this field doing original accessory styles, these are worth a look if you can find them! Wood and horn are on-trend materials which are easy and comfortable to wear as frame “holders” or necklaces, very pretty and very practical if you are wearing stylish spectacles or reading glasses you don’t want to put down, and forget where you’ve put them …for more information on this company visit their website, one of our favourite “animated” sites, at www.filaoparis.com CN

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Superhero sunglasses

11th August 2011

Created by Colab, in collaboration with Anthony Lister

30th August, 2011 This is an intriguing project by the Australian brand Colab and international street art “super hero” Anthony Lister. Vacation on the Sun Sunglasses are a Limited Edition, where the first 250 models (see the frame below) come packaged with an Anthony Lister superhero mask in red, blue or yellow.

The sunglass style itself is a classic tortoiseshell style, with brown gradient lens, available in a Limited Edition of 1000 individually numbered models. For more details on this unique eyewear experience, go to www.colab.com.au CN