Design + Inspiration

Colour trends on Eyestylist: greens and browns are in

29th November 2023

As the temperatures drop and we head towards the December holiday season, green and brown eyewear tones for men are enjoying a special moment

Whether it’s the ongoing love of nature-inspired colours in the world around us (leaf, stone, woodgrain, horn and earthy hues) or fashion’s influence – deep tones of green and brown for eyewear make an exquisite match for the menswear collections (tops, trousers, trainers “beef and broccoli” style) we’re seeing right now, and those warm heavier fabrics, cosy fleeces and thick knits in store. Above: in the Seraphin collection by OGI Eyewear, model Brookside illustrates how winter apparel can be perfectly styled with a new frame in tones which fuse with the overall look – think tortoise, brown, khaki, mocca and many close variations of these greens and browns. www.ogieyewear.com

SALT. Optics perfectly replicates natural tones of the Californian scenery in the colour palette of their acetate styles. Model Pacific by SALT. Optics in Whiskey is informed by the grand scale of the beautiful Coast Mountains; the Pacific provides a bold oversized rectangular style that serves anyone looking to make a structured statement while maintaining a tailored silhouette and professional look. Handcrafted in Japan utilizing functional rivet hinges, the highest quality 8mm Japanese acetate, and featuring proprietary colours only found at SALT. www.saltoptics.com

Model Clyde is a 3D printed Polyamide frame in the Dimension collection at Götti Switzerland, with rounded edges and a narrow profile. The mocca colour appears frequently in the Götti Switzerland eyewear collections. www.gotti.ch

For the Wodso style, MOREL places focus on craftsmanship and seamlessly combining three materials into a premium finish. The wooden temples incorporate a slim metal blade and acetate sleeves, offering a masculine, comfortable, well-crafted product. www.morel-france.com

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Señor SNR by Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses

The ‘Señor SNR’ sunglasses by Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses bridge the gap between classic and contemporary, the subtle sixties styling carry it effortlessly into any twenty first century wardrobe for guys with a love of good design. The frame is timeless and comfortable and the colours deliver as a compliment to this season’s most fashionable men’s apparel. Colours we’d recommend include Tortoise Split, Tokyo Tokyo (pictured) and the beautiful green variation, Seafoam + Champagne – www.olivergoldsmith.com

Larch Sun by Andy Wolf – the green tone is one that most people can wear and it is overtaking some more usual winter tones in eyewear right now

Andy Wolf’s focus on the big and bold looks with wide temples – for men and women – is further enhanced with a palette of warm or wintery colours such as green and brown – sun model Larch or optical style frame 4621 are good examples in this range of frames that are working this modern look and vibe. www.andy-wolf.com

This feature was written by Clodagh Norton for www.eyestylist.com – Copyright protected.

Design + Inspiration

TVR®OPT: first rimless edition featuring Sterling Silver

28th November 2023

Eyestylist Exclusive : The Japanese eyewear label has created a rimless edition in sterling silver, designed by Tsubota Masato – details in the collection are inspired by ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics alongside Art Deco elements

After years of planning and meticulous production, TVR®OPT has revealed this month that they are unveiling their TVR®OPT Rimless Collection (TVR®536), the brand’s first ever rimless eyewear made in premium sterling silver. The collection is the result of a collaboration between TVR®OPT and Tsubota Masato, an eyewear designer who has many years’ experience designing for both Japanese and American eyewear brands. The release of the edition coincides with the 10th anniversary of the sought-after Japanese eyewear label.

TVR®OPT sterling silver rimless eyewear; details have been inspired by Art Deco references and Egyptian Hieroglyphics

“I have been seeing people wear rimless for over 40 years, and I felt it would be something interesting to bring back into the TVR®OPT Luxury collection. The idea was sparked when Onami-san spoke to me saying that he wanted something luxurious and timeless.” — Tsubota Masato, designer

The Japanese eyewear designer Tsubota Masato joined the TVR®OPT Japan team in 2012, and has been responsible for the redesign of most of the TVR®OPT collections since the beginning. With his expertise and experience, he has managed to reimagine Japanese archive pieces for modern day eyewear connoisseurs, all around the world.

TVR®OPT rimless edition: the result of a long and painstaking process of research and expertise in craftsmanship

As part of the rimless design concept, TVR®OPT Japan wanted to bring back a classic eyewear temple design from 2006 especially for this collection. With Tsubota Masato, who designed rimless eyewear at the time, they have developed a newly crafted design which also explores the original details, preserving the essence of the frames of that earlier time.

Masato made several adjustments to the original design, including re-detailing the temple tips with a special coloured material (Black Clear) at the end tips. This feature includes a TVR®OPT logo engraving in sterling silver, enhancing aesthetics and shifting the balance of the glasses toward the tips of the temple arms, improving overall stability.

Sterling silver has been selected for several reasons, not least its elegance and long lasting appeal. TVR®OPT has also opted to add an extra clear coating to protect the sterling silver from damage, ensuring it will shine for a long period of time.

The new designs are available in four shapes: round, orbal, octagon or square. For more details about the different features of the frames visit www.tvropt.com

On the origins of rimless glasses: rimless glasses developed from the 1900s Pince-nez designs, also known as three-piece style eyeglasses. As the Oxford Pince-nez became less practical over the years, rimless eyeglasses took their place by the 1920s as a go-to choice of eyeglasses. Luminaries like Teddy Roosevelt started wearing the Pince-nez when he became president in 1901, and he is cited as the first president to be photographed in a pair of glasses as spectacles during a period where eyeglasses were considered a remedial tool instead of a style statement. The Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865 to 1939) also wore signature temple-less pince-nez glasses. and was famously photographed in them. In 2017, one of his pairs of pince-nez sold for EURO 10,000 at auction in Co Kilkenny.

To find out more about the new releases at TVR visit : www.tvropt.eu

Design + Inspiration

Barcelona design: Arquitectura-G X KALEOS

13th November 2023

The Barcelona-based eyewear brand has teamed with Arquitectura-G to create a collaboration collection – launched 13th November

In a unique collaboration with Barcelona brand KALEOS, the architecture studio Arquitectura-G applied their design philosophy to eyewear, simplifying geometry and pushing the boundaries of eyewear construction. The resulting capsule collection comprises five 100% titanium frames, handcrafted in Japan. Each frame features an elastic tube for adjustment, designed to offer a comfortable fit for any head size.

The Arquitectura-G x KALEOS collaboration represents a fusion of the two companies’ respective visions, with a keen emphasis on geometric shapes with a clean, structural, minimalistic, monotoned look. The collection will be available to purchase at selected retailers and online at www.kaleoscollection.com

Design + Inspiration

100% Optical: a 10th anniversary edition

9th November 2023

The London show will take place on 24th to 26th February 2024 and promises an extra special event to celebrate 10 years

100% Optical returns for its 10th edition in February 2024, an optical event which promises an ever wider selection of exhibiting eyewear, contact lens, lens brands and technology companies.

The 100% Optical fair organisers have already confirmed a line-up of independent exhibitors for the 2024 event which will include Frost, Blackfin, Bevel, Morel, Einstoffen, Erker’s 1879, Götti Switzerland, Nina Mûr, Paname, Etnia Barcelona, Erker’s 1879, Kaleos, Kirk & Kirk, Ørgreen Optics, Danielle Rattray, Nikon, Mokki, SALT. Optics and Seiko. Above: Kaleos display of on-trend sunglasses at 100%

The UK’s own independent eyewear brand: Kirk & Kirk

Kirk & Kirk are long-time exhibitors at 100%. Their bold, colourful distinctive collections are always among the highlights at the show for those seeking out the latest independent creative eyewear releases with all-round appeal. www.kirkandkirk.com

SALT. Optics’ *sunglasses – SALT. is one of the independent brands that returns each year to 100% from California – www.saltoptics.com*

Across the three-day 100% Optical show, a myriad of topics and opportunities will be available to opticians, with sessions including keynote lectures, discussion workshops, peer reviews and interactive poster trails across a variety of different hubs. Key education topics will showcase myopia management, advances in clinical imaging, including the role of artificial intelligence, and dry eye disease.

Model Epic, a clean, minimal shape, which is part of the Volumetrica collection by Ørgreen Optics – the Danish eyewear innovators who have confirmed for the 2024 show – www.orgreenoptics.com

Trends and design directions for the Spring/Summer season are always a favourite topic at 100%, which hosts a popular catwalk show on stage through three days – a fun opportunity for optical retailers in the UK to see a showcase of frames by popular brands and independent designers – close-up.

Leach by Götti Switzerland: among the new advanced titanium releases by the Swiss eyewear company

Götti Switzerland will be a go-to at 100% for those who offer high-end, premium eyewear in their UK stores. The collections at Götti include state-of-the-art materials such as titanium, buffalo horn and 3d printed glasses, Dimension by Götti – made exclusively in Switzerland. www.gotti.ch

Morel France: the French company’s first reading glasses collection has just been revealed this season – Morel is a regular exhibitor at the London fair – www.morel-france.com

100% Optical arranges the Love Eyewear Awards, with a presentation event hosted during the show, representing a ‘celebration of the sector’ and all that it has to offer. With 13 categories, the Love Eyewear Awards are an opportunity for all exhibitors to take part with a varied choice of categories, including ‘New Designer 2024’, ‘Women’s Sunglasses of the Year’, ‘Unisex Frame of the Year’, ‘Sustainable Frame of the Year’, ‘Best Innovation’ and more. The deadline for submissions for the 2024 awards is 4th December 2023, so there is still time to get involved!

100% Optical also continue to deliver the annual Royal College of Art Competition, a project which encourages RCA students from the department of “Fashion Footwear Accessories Millinery” to explore the world of eyewear and submit designs according to an annual theme. This year, in recognition of the 100% Optical 10th anniversary, the theme is “Perfect 10”. The shortlisted designs will be exhibited at the show. “The students have been asked to build their own 10 principles of good eyewear design,” the show organisers told Eyestylist this week.

“Once again the competition is supported by the Royal College of Optometrists in Craven Street London via Neil Handley. Tom Broughton from Cubitts will also offer advice and materials and expertise. Students will work closely with Steve Bunn in technical workshops hosted in Battersea. He has a track record of working with new eyewear students and makers. Students will also be supported by listening to advice given by eyewear experts like Rocco Barker, frame maker and collector and Frame maker and optician, Lawrence Jenkin alongside Bryan McGinn of De Selby eyewear in Hackney.”

100% Optical 2024 returns to its home at ExCeL in London from 24th to 26th February 2024. Find out more and register here: www.100percentoptical.com Location: ExCel London, Royal Location: ExCel London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, LONDON E16 1XL. Eyestylist.com is a Media Partner for 100% Optical.

Design + Inspiration

Erker’s 1879 : AP collection

7th November 2023

A new collection from the St. Louis brand pays homage to the Erker’s family founding father

Continuing its tradition of celebrating family heritage through design, the US independent brand Erkers 1879 has created a collection in acetate, inspired by their founder, A. P. Erker and his creativity in the business he founded. The 15 new styles in the collection come in a palette of bright, fresh tones, some of which have never been used before in the collection. The hues are informed by many different types of inspiration, from the ocean and the waves, to the colours of vineyards and night skies. Trending gradient coloration, gentle tinted crystals, and expressive modern combinations ensure that the choices in the collection appeal to many different individual tastes. Above: the new frames in the AP collection have been created in celebration of a rich family history with an inspiring spectacle-making tradition, born in St. Louis

Erker’s 1879 – the acetate model Bridgeton comes in 5 unique tones such as “Vineyards” above – where several tones are combined in gradients

Hand finished and hand polished in a 48-step manufacturing process, model Bridgeton illustrates the attention to detail in colour, design and hardware in the range. The rounded rectangular eye shape with a delicate cat eye edge offers a pretty, feminine design with thin rims and temples. The frame also boasts authentic “old-school” signature rivets and attractive minutely detailed metal parts at the hinge.

About A. P., founder of Erker’s 1879 – The company’s founder, Adolph P. Erker (A.P.) was a German immigrant who travelled to the United States in the late 1800’s, with the goal of founding his own optical company. In 1879, A.P. established The Erker’s Optical Co. in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. In the years following his founding of the company, A.P. was joined by his brother, August Erker, beginning a familial legacy which continues today. For more information and the history of the brand, visit www.erkers1879.com