Design + Inspiration

Savile Row, London

Eyestylist returned to Algha Works, London – the home of classical British eyewear

Behind the memorable doors of Algha Works, an historic artisan eyewear factory now surrounded by new builds and wastelands in the East End of London, are some of Europe’s most highly skilled craftsmen and women, making spectacles the traditional way, through years – in some cases decades – of dedication to the meticulous craft.

The building itself has stood the test of time. In 1940, a bomb exploded just outside on Smeed Road and it was described as a miracle that Algha Works – and its extraordinary collection of German-made machinery and specialised tools survived. Today, within the factory’s distinctive graffitied walls, lies a complex artisan operation that remains much as it was in the ’30s, historic and infused with a deep heritage which has brought it consistent recognition and loyalty from customers around the world.

Classic Savile Row: The Beaufort with Windsor rim

Preserving the most classical forms and constructions, delicately tweaked for the contemporary wearer, each of the Savile Row rolled-gold styles today continues to be produced in the old fashioned manner with numerous steps to achieve a final “bespoke-finished” product. Model Beaufort exemplifies the ultimate signature panto shape of the Savile Row collection, worn by a host of well-known faces such as Harrison Ford (as Indiana Jones) and Johnny Depp. Typical of the styles in the line, the frame comes in a choice of gold or rhodium with a choice of colour for the Windsor rim, typically black, chestnut, tortoise or blond. https://savileroweyewear.com/retailshop/beaufort

Elegant, distinguished style: The Panto gold

The Savile Row Panto is unequivocally a star in the collection, worn famously by John Lennon as well as Eric Clapton (the Diaflex Panto version). Engravings, which elevate the unique finish of these retro-infused spectacles, can be applied to parts of the frame such as the bridge (illustrated above) – the operation to create such a delicate and ornate patterning is precise and requires particular expertise – using the very same machines that were brought from Germany many decades ago. Link to The Panto online: https://savileroweyewear.com/retailshop/panto For more details about Savile Row Eyewear visit www.savileroweyewear.co.uk

Eyestylist returned to Algha Works in January 2020. For further details about previous visits to the factory, visit https://www.eyestylist.com/2014/01/british-eyewear-heritage/

New season at Falvin Eyewear, Denmark

A sensual soft style evolves in new designs at the luxury brand

The Danish eyewear designer, Birgitte Falvin points to the sensual finesse of her handcrafted frames for Spring/Summer 2020. “A Nordic ambience infuses our new designs, pure and streamlined,” says Falvin. “The Premium Collection unites this mood with precise details, superb Japanese quality and skillful craftsmanship.” Above: Danish model Marina Ohm wears model Venus; photography by Henrik Adamsen.

Patrycja Walczak wears model Uranus by Falvin Eyewear, in delicate rose gold

Falvin’s unisex aviator shape, Uranus, is sleek, sophisticated and commanding in its expression of quality – ideal for all activities – both sports and professional. The structure is oversized with a dramatic square-ish eye shape to suit men and women. The colour choices are typical of the brand with uniquely inspiring luxury pairings which include mat onyx with mat black gold or mat topaz with 24 carat gold.

Sensual silhouette: the new model Venus by Falvin Eyewear with precious rose gold

The soft, sensual form of frame model Venus is interpreted with a light construction, satisfyingly comfy fit, and a striking matt and shiny finish to symbolise charisma and subtle personality. FALVIN offers the additional possibility of a fully customised design, decorated with sparkling Wesselton diamonds. The brand works in close collaboration with a distinguished Danish jeweller to create the jewellery encrusted frames with a luxurious and compelling expression of individual style.

FALVIN’s exciting new eyewear designs include models Venus and Uranus. The frames will be available at international stockists from Spring 2020. They will show at the trade fair in Denmark: Copenhagen Specs March 7/8. Find out more at www.falvineyewear.com

Streetwear style…in eyewear

Sunglass trends for streetwear aficionados

Cutting-edge aesthetics. Advanced functionality. Streamlined tech detailing. These areas have been studied with painstaking care and attention by a handful of independent eyewear brands creating products to fit with the aesthetic of streetwear: where luxurious – often avantgarde – styling and innovation are presented in equal, uncompromising measure.

Barcelona brand Lool has just announced its flat sport style sunglasses, Lool’s ‘Spark’ (above) from the Non Stop City collection. The inspiration for the line comes from club culture, contemporary cities and streetwear fashion. The glasses mix experimental concepts and new fashion trends with a touch of colour and bold, angular structures. The range also highlights the use of photochromic lenses which adapt to changes in light, darkening for day and lightening for night, when a luminescent line profiles the lens. Find out more: www.looleyewear.com

Mykita & Bernhard Willhelm: LOST – in stainless steel (Glossy Gold)

Mykita’s reputation as an eyewear innovator and its wide offering of sun and ophthalmic frame styles takes in the streetwear aesthetic in many guises with models in the 3D printed Mylon collection having a particularly special allure for connoisseurs of design. On course with a mix of sports and streetwear – and elements of fantasy, the new capsule collab styles with Bernhard Willhelm serve up bold silhouettes with airbrush gradients on temples and eye-catching ‘hanging’ lenses – marking a decade of successful collaboration between the two creative brands. www.mykita.com

MP4 by Covrt Project – from _MissionOne collection

The British label Covrt Project is defined by streetwear cultures and subcultures. Creative Director Marcello Martino has particular expertise in CAD design – and luxury eyewear production (in Italy), allowing the brand to create innovative frames with a distinctive identity. MP4 – from the all-black _MissionOne collection has an unusually high double bridge, topped with an acetate bar. The tech details include a signature cam laser welded hinge and functional ‘stopper’ incorporated into the temple arm. Find out more at www.covrtproject.com

Brand storytelling: Blackfin, Italy

The Italian brand explores a new deep narrative in its latest campaign – Timeless Memories -, located at Alberto Burri’s Cretto of Gibellina. The campaign was shot by Giovanni De Sandre.

The Cretto of Burri, also known as the Great Cretto, is a dramatic piece of land art in Southern Italy, realized by Alberto Burri. The work lies at the site of the historic centre of Gibellina, a village destroyed in an earthquake, and today remembered in Burri’s immense and permanent ‘cretto’ or crack.

“Selecting the Great Cretto was a choice of values and value,” Simone Favero told Eyestylist. “A pure connection between what Burri wanted to convey in cementing the Gibellina ruins after the earthquake and our putting down roots, even emotional ones, in our every action. We can only grow as a company, as a business, if we define our reasons for doing business in a clear way. For us, the connection with the past, and what every day teaches us, is a fundamental way of putting down roots.”

Blackfin 2020:  a campaign linked to values through an intensely emotional “memorial”  + art work – photography by Giovanni De Sandre

“Cementing the ruins of a city after an earthquake represents the ‘apotheosis of pointless gestures’. With Timeless Memories we wanted to convey our conviction that these seemingly pointless gestures are necessary,” explained Favero.

Blackfin 2020 eyewear collection: on location at the Grand Cretto

This location, and those of past campaigns, have become inherent to the storytelling of the brand and its values: neomadeinitaly, the company’s ethical and historic ties to the land it inhabits; titanium, the concrete material aspect of the product; and credo, the ‘awareness’ of the campaign’s message that, in this case at the Grand Cretto, is not only a transfiguration of images, but also of deep meaning and substance.

“We’re a company and a brand,” says Favero. “Our history and actions as regards production, along with our business choices are all focused around corporate social responsibility. The objective is to bring this theme into the seasonal campaign and amaze people, as we like to do at Blackfin, thereby, for maybe the first time, laying down a subtext which can constitute a milestone in the company’s history. Timeless Memories was welcomed by all…and has far surpassed expectations. It has touched people due to the emotion inspired by the book we have created, resonating mostly because of the choice of a truly intimate, ethical motivation.” For more details about Timeless Memories and the new SS20 eyewear releases, visit www.blackfin.eu

Mykita: Light Narratives

Photography by Mark Borthwick for Mykita: SS 2020

British photographer Mark Borthwick has worked with Mykita through a multitude of campaigns and his latest work for the brand – entitled Light Narratives – illustrates his characteristic unaffacted style and authentic approach with a particularly compelling mood. As storytelling goes, the imagery is perfectly in keeping with the personal aspect of Mykita design, capturing real faces and real glances and expressions in a landscape that is evocative and mesmerising, with wide-open spaces.

Mykita SS20
Mykita SS20

Created in a remote area of Portugal, the minimal imagery features deliberate contrasts in close-up portraits, group shots and landscapes, while across some of the photographs are the distinctive pink and lilac movements in light from the sun, a trait that is typical of the style of the photographer. Below: a short ‘behind the scenes’ film from the shoot in Portugal by Mark Borthwick.

The campaign images show frames styles in the Mykita Lite, Decades and No1 Sun collections, in contemporary stainless steel or acetate/steel combinations. In synergy with the photography and the neutral colour palette dominated by blue sky and tan earth, interspersed with flashes of bright crimson fabric, the eyewear designs come in pared down and classical tones of matte silver, champagne gold and black, with some unexpected twists and contrasts in a gentle purple bronze/pink clay combination and a topaz/shiny copper mix. For more information about the new SS20 styles now available at Mykita, visit www.mykita.com