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A tribute to Bob Marley

21st September 2012 Inspired by Bob Marley, this new creation is a collaboration between Barton Perreira and Tuff Gong Worldwide. The style is a classic luxe aviator produced in a Limited Edition of just 500 pieces. Made in Japan and hand finished with the Tuff Gong logo plaque, embedded in the temple ends, the design features new “breath logo” lens technology so when you breathe on the lenses an image of Marley appears in a star – that’s quite something! Designer Patty Perreira says she jumped at the chance to work with Tuff Gong: “Marley has always been such a great inspiration to me; his music, his poetic lyrics, his love for life and freedom have inspired me to live and work in a positive way.” www.bartonperreira.com  CN

Stunning Styles from Austria and Sweden

20th September 2012 Beautiful eyewear from Alexandra Hötzl-Giselbrecht and Lena Hoschek, designers at Lena Hoschek, and Anna-Karin Karlsson, has been submitted for the forthcoming Hall of Frames/Eyestylist Newcomer Awards.

Austrian based Lena creates frames that are a reflection of what has fascinated her since childhood: the female ideal of the 1940’s and 1950’s (as in the above photo, style SO12), craftsmanship, high-end tailoring, and traditional materials, plus rock ‘n roll, punk music, tattoos, bad guys and fast cars! Her friends think that when she designs, she secretly dreams of Rhett Butler…..

Anna-Karin Karlsson continues to push the boundaries of eyewear couture, and the Swedish designer views every frame as a piece of art. Her eyewear is elaborate and visionary (above), and music and painting are essential for her creative processes, not only as an inspiration, but as the root from which all of her work stems. Every design has a setting, a name and a story that goes with it.

Watch this space for more designs that we are receiving from international creators for the first Hall of Frames Newcomer Awards – winners to be announced in Stuttgart on 22nd October 2012. www.hallofframes.ch JG

Eyestylist at London Fashion Week – Linda Farrow Luxe

18th September 2012 London Fashion Week attracts a few specialist eyewear companies and designers; some of the catwalk shows exhibit a wide variety of their designs and this year have included (so far) a number of Linda Farrow Collaborations, Cutler & Gross, Prism and Moo Eyewear, whose sunglasses appeared at designer, Ekaterina Kukhareva’s show.

Eyestylist.com spoke to the team at Linda Farrow on Monday: “We are launching the Spring/Summer ’13 collections, across New York, London and Paris Fashion Weeks, because we work with a lot of different designers on collaborations. Trends coming up for 2013 include, for Linda Farrow Luxe, a lot of gold, and classic, elegant and timeless designs.”  New translucent colour tones include a sumptuous aqua with snakeskin and a very soft pastel pink (pictured below). Tortoise, black and a variety of delicate neutrals led the colour palette, while shapes varied from soft circles and ovals to the more angular rectangles.

“This weekend we have released the SS ’13 Matthew Williamson by Linda Farrow Collaborations Collection. We have more collaborations coming up including, next month, a project with Erdem, and we have shown this collection for the first time here on Monday. This is also our second season collaborating with Boris Bidjan Saberi. Our focus is on improving everything we can offer, bringing up the classic styles and working to make them even better.” www.lindafarrow.co.uk CN

Top image by Margarida Viegas, exclusively for Eyestylist.com.

Innovation and Inspiration Highlight Frame Styles

17th September 2012  Entries are arriving daily for the Newcomer Awards, and we are excited about the designs we have seen, plus discovering the motivation and inspiration that the eyewear creators put into their frames. Today we present designs and comments from Monoqool in Denmark, and Coppe+Sid in England.

Henrik Holbaek and Claus Jensen are the design team behind the Danish brand Monoqool, launched in 2010. “With our first collection, we started our pursuit to be the most innovative eyewear company. We came up with the ingenious spiral hinge (photo above, Radar), a hinge made completely with screws and soldering. Form follows function. A simple, but very innovative approach to eyewear.” www.monoqool.com

Sid Fiz is an optician; Coppe Gualtiero has extensive experience in sales, development and export, and their joint talents led to the creation of Coppe+Sid. “Our collection is a contemporary recreation of a timeless collection put together with skilled, traditional handcrafting, and new production techniques. The collection is a cross-cultural design reference for a distinguished, refined, and cosmopolitan aesthetic.” www.coppeandsid.co.uk

In the following weeks, we’ll be presenting designs submitted from other independent creators –  we’re delighted with the broad scope of the entries!  Winners will be announced at Hall of Frames in Stuttgart, 22nd October. www.hallofframes.ch JG

An Italian Adventure by Blue Magic Eye

14th September 2012 Italian designers Ciro Tugnoli and Guya Montermini (above) have themed their new eyewear collection around a mysterious treasure hunt. It’s a fun adventure based in Bologna, the historical city where Guya and Ciro were born, live, create their frames, and a city they love. “The Italian landscape was chosen for this project to transmit our values, and the true importance of ‘handmade in Italy'”, say the designers. The hunt is planned by a young man for his girlfriend, as they tour Bologna’s Old City, and discover wonderful little shops and landmarks – plus great new frames from the “Euforia” collection.

Metal and acetate combine harmoniously in the frames – some featuring beautiful Mazzuchelli acetates from 1970 that Guya found in an abandoned factory. “Euforia” and other lovely designs by Blue Magic Eye will be on display at Hall of Frames in Zurich next month.  www.bluemagiceye.com Hall of Frames Zurich 14th and 15th October 2012 www.hallofframes.ch JG