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Trend watch: Marbling and mottled effects

14th June 2011 The variety of effects you can get in a plastic frame are close to unimaginable. But after looking at thousands of styles made of plastic over the years, I have come to learn how much this material varies in quality. For any consumers out there buying a chunky acetate frame or with that intention, be really sure you are getting a high quality one;  you will see they hold colour and pattern better making them look a whole lot more stylish than the ordinary and rather tacky poor quality ones.

When a few opticians point out a collection they like which is doing well, it must mean something! The current Paul Smith optical and sunglass line is one of these that has been brought to my attention a few times over the Spring. This unisex optical example above, with the eloquent literary name ‘Tennyson’, is one that caught my eye at a recent press day…primarily owing to the interesting effect of the purple and black patterning which is best seen close up but this image represents it fairly well. A classy, easy-to-wear optical range, with some leading trends incorporated such as the patterning of this unisex frame, or other retro details such as keyhole bridges, and evocative round and rectangular vintage shapes, this is great statement eyewear.  www.paulsmith.co.uk CN

ETNIA Barcelona

4th June 2011 The Catalan brand Etnia has produced this limited edition exclusively for the music event Sonar this year (which takes place on 16th to 18th June). The model is available to those attending the daytime events, who take part in the brand’s Facebook promotion – there are 300 being given away each day. From what we hear and from the pictures we’ve seen, it looks like a very cool sunglass style in fluorescent fuchsia and white acetate – it features Zeiss lenses in four colours of which the blue gradient is our favourite choice, and clever, understated detailing….a very hip sun style for Summer 2011, but unfortunately not available in the shops. CN

www.etniabarcelona.com

For more on Sonar 2011, visit www.sonar.es

Neutrals are here to stay

1st June 2011 Everyone’s talking about neutrals (in fashion at least)…and that’s for A/W, not just S/S. I have picked out a few of these putty tones as a guideline, but I can’t stress enough that there are a lot of these colours about (some nicer than others) and many of the good examples in eyewear are those that use lovely quality acetates, which are usually produced in Italy, or possibly Japan.  My first (pictured above) is from the Dries Van Noten collection (model 22) in “translucent dirty pink”. There are a few great neutral choices in this sophisticated collection, produced by the glasses company Linda Farrow. We like the translucent finish as well as the subtle flesh tones of this one, plus it’s a great shape.

French label Anne et Valentin is also doing some really elegant pink tones, with this sunglass combo below being a real favourite in their S/S range, as it mixes a transparent nude tone with a bright purple.

From the German label Mykita, we like the nude/silver combination of Tiago, one of the few metals I have encountered in this colour tone; the frame is a 1960s oversized design with a prominent brow line that transforms into side pieces. It’s a smart, savvy look and it goes the extra mile with the attention to detail…the lens colour beautifully sets off the colour of the frame itself. www.mykita.com If you have seen some great frames using these colour tones let us know, I’d like to find some more of the extra special ones on offer. CN