The B Corp certified ‘seastainable’ eyewear brand has featured their latest frames in a photo project in Morocco by Edouard Valette – the shoot is the first in a special photographic series where Sea2see highlights the fragile beauty of the coastal environment in an artistic and yet poignant reminder of the climate emergency
The shoot took place in and around the fishing village of Taghazout on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, an extraordinarily eye-catching location, and presents a reminder of the natural fragile beauty of the coastline and sea in this particular region. For Sea2see, these vistas have a symbolism that goes beyond fashion, representing “our responsibility towards nature and its very survival across the world”.
Capturing a mood of exploration in this extraordinary scenery, the Belgian stylist, Lisa Lapauw creates a feeling that is at once creative and colourful, with a fresh and distinctive apparel style that also highlights upcycled, pre-used items and discarded plastics from the beach – in line with the Sea2see eyewear collection which is “seastainable” and recycled from marine plastic and waste. Above and below: images from Sea2see’s 2023 photographic project in Morocco – shot by international photographer and filmmaker, Edouard Valette, (https://www.raindogsproduction.com/). A team of internationally famous models and local faces were featured in the images, including Ansar Elyacoubi, Sahal Elhaissan, Kaltoum, Siham and Mohamed Youno.
“These images are full of symbolism, reflecting our deep conviction in circularity, environmental action and the need for widespread material re-use,” said François van den Abeele, Founder of Sea2see. “Travelling to various fishing villages and coastal environments, the scenes express the essence, extraordinary colours and reality of the coastal and fishing environment, the unique biodiversity in the sea… whilst the models wear the fishing nets, plastic bottles, fishhooks and buoys…symbolic of what is discarded on beaches, polluting these spectacular natural shores…”
Model Panarea – produced in 100% marine plastic, has a large eye-catching silhouette – and represents one of the fashion-oriented designs in the 2023 collection, offered in timeless tones of black, Havana blue and graduated burgundy (pictured in image below).
All the eyewear featured in the imagery is part of Sea2see’s current “seastainable” ophthalmic and sunglasses collection 2023. Find out more at www.sea2see.org
Silmo 2023: Nina Mûr shows Bhaus collection
A modernist inspired collection by the Madrid design brand, Bhaus fuses functionality, simplicity and new-season aesthetics
Silmo 2023: Nina Mûr’s new modernist collection is informed by Bauhaus art, design and architecture. Founded in Germany in 1919 by the architect Walter Gropius, the vision and influential design language of the Bauhaus movement has served as the basis for the design of the glasses – their structure and beautiful high-quality, crafted design details. Advocating a union between function and form, and seeking simplicity and functionality in design, Bauhaus stood out for its focus on the integration of arts and crafts with architecture and industrial design, something which Lorena Serrano, Creative Director, has studied astutely for this line. Above: Bhaus by Nina Mûr – the new styles have exciting shapes and a colour story that emerges with different characteristics and moods…above left, model Walter and right, model Oskar – both showing asymmetric details for fronts
Serrano explains: “We have delved into the Bauhaus design philosophy, which emphasized functionality, simplicity and clean aesthetics, with noble and simple materials, merging craft and technology to innovate and offer a functional product. The common points and how this philosophy is aligned with the philosophy and values of Nina Mûr are truly surprising….”
The new collection, which consists of 5 new sunglass models, encompasses distinctive Bauhaus influences, with features such as clean lines, geometric shapes and simple yet noble materials, minimal codes which are dear to the brand. They move away from an overly ornate style and embrace minimalism in the design, functionality and clean structure of each of the frames.
Melding the arts, technology and crafts to come up with a functional, minimalist and clear design, the collection has been carefully conceived for all those who appreciate elegance, simplicity and modernity in their eyewear design. Another must-see for Silmo Paris this week. Find out more at : www.ninamur.com
Sustainable developments: an Eyestylist exclusive
The last months have seen some particular highlights in the drive towards sustainable activity across the independent segment of the eyewear industry. Actions range from a much higher transparency about individual company commitments to genuine sustainable goals as well as ongoing innovation in recycling and re-purposing waste and discarded products to make beautiful high-quality frames…the examples below are among the most notable developments we have identified in recent weeks….
RECYCLED MATERIALS: GREATER TRANSPARENCY ABOUT EYEWEAR MATERIALS IN USE
Mykita draws attention to the importance of recycling which is key to the circular economy, helping to protect natural resources. Setting a standard for sharing details about the specific materials in its collections, most recently, the company has published the details about the metal materials it is currently using. Over 90% of purchased frame materials at MYKITA are recycled:
“Our metal frames are made from stainless steel consisting of 90% recycled content. We now also return our leftover stainless steel as raw material to our supplier’s recycling plant in Sweden – a closed loop operation.” Image above: courtesy of Mykita
Already in 2022, for their acetate collections, Mykita fully switched to using recycled acetate in a partnership with Eastman, the producers of Eastman Acetate Renew, a bio-based material made from certified sustainable wood pulp that uses recycled waste plastics in place of fossil based resources. www.mykita.com
DEMO LENSES: A MOVE TO RECYCLED + RECYCLABLE MATERIALS
In Autumn 2022, the French company Morel introduced recycled and recyclable demo lenses in 100% of their frames. The demonstration lenses, built with recycled acrylic, make up a virtuous circle as they are infinitely recyclable, the Morel team say.
At Morel, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions are separated into three main themes: product commitment, environmental commitment, and social responsibility. To be open and transparent about these activities and how they will evolve for the future, the company has published a manifesto which details their projects and progress in these areas, available from their website at www.morel-france.com
DEVELOPING CIRCULAR OPERATIONS TO REMOVE WASTE FROM THE SEA + CREATE “SEASTAINABLE” PRODUCTS
The B CORP Certified and Carbon Negative company Sea2see has created its own Foundation in Africa to enable an ongoing collection of rubbish from the coast by the local communities. Those involved are paid for the work, and the collection to clean up the marine environment is centered around 20 fishing communities in Ghana, involving around 500 people with a collection success of 25,000 kg (on average) of waste collected each month. Sea2see is now driving this model in other regions including Senegal, since 2020. Some of the waste is turned into a certified raw material called UPSEA™ PLAST which has obtained Cradle to Cradle Gold Certification. The material is suitable to make robust, strong eyewear which is comfortable to wear and bright and colourful – manufactured to high quality standards in Italy – as well as a stylish collection of watches which Sea2see produces at one of the leading watch makers in Switzerland. Find out more about Sea2see activities at www.sea2see.org
PIONEERING DEVELOPMENT IN RECYCLING / REPURPOSING EYEWEAR / CREATING UNIQUE COLOURS AND PATTERNS IN NEW “REGRIND” DESIGNS – PROCESS REQUIRES UP TO 35% LESS Co2 THAN VIRGIN ACETATE
REGRIND represents a step forward in recycling old disused eyewear and creating a raw material from the old frames, which is then used in a new circular production. The success of the REGRIND process continues to grow – with the creation of aesthetically colourful and stylish varieties (the material is patented ISCC and certified bio-circular – produced in Sweden), that have a wide choice of marbled, flecked, smokey, stone-inspired and Havana-like colorations. The materials are now available to all eyewear designers.
The couple behind the REGRIND innovation – Emilia and Erik Lindmark – who are the co-founders also of EOE Eyewear showed their most recent REGRIND frame designs at OPTI in January in a limited edition that is striking and bold, both in colour and finish. To find out more about REGRIND visit our interview with the creators about the creation of the new material: https://www.eyestylist.com/2022/06/regrind-an-innovative-approach-to-circular-design/ www.regrind.se
Eyestylist is interested to hear from all independent optical/frame companies who wish to talk about their latest steps in becoming more sustainable. Please contact us at [email protected] – this feature was written by EYESTYLIST.COM – all rights reserved.
Sustainability report: VAVA Eyewear
The brand has released its first THEOREM report, which explores its progress thus far in being more conscious, transparent and sustainable as well as addressing its plans for the future
The avantgarde eyewear label, VAVA, created by Pedro da Silva, has released a sustainability report, which sets out its pathway as a fashion brand towards “a more conscious, transparent and sustainable fashion industry”. Through the report, the VAVA team expresses its fears, hopes and commitments, stating that they wish to demarcate the line between an industry that speaks and an industry that acts.
The VAVA THEOREM is the result of a deep commitment to sustainability, change and genuine progress. “One of the purposes is to convey vital information in a clear and organised fashion, so that the reader can understand the development and concepts behind the evolution of VAVA’s sustainability project, explains Pedro da Silva. “Our Theorem is not merely reportage but also represents our effort to bring greater transparency to our endeavours in terms of the environmental, societal and political challenges that all of us face, globally.”
Among the areas considered in the report on 2021 are Environmental Protection, Economic Prosperity and Social Responsibility. It also outlines VAVA’s consultancy programme with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) a commitment which is allowing the brand to build a 360º sustainability strategy with clear goals and deadlines. VAVA has also revealed that it also recently joined the internationally renowned organisation, The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD).
To read the full sustainability report, visit https://theorem.vavaeyewear.com
Rolf Spectacles: surface structure in 3D printed glasses
The team behind the Tyrol-based natural eyewear brand Rolf Spectacles has developed a new textured surface structure for their 3D printed plant-based glasses
Rolf Spectacles is driving forward with further innovation and design “firsts” in 3D printed sustainable eyewear. Their latest addition to the 3D printed plant-based frames is a new surface structure called ‘Substance Honey’. It replicates a honeycomb pattern across the surface of the designs. The natural beauty of the pattern was selected to “pay homage to the bees”. It acts as a reminder of the values behind the ‘Substance’ bean-based collection, a multi-award winner for its green and sustainable design innovation. Above: Bernhard and Roland Wolf at Silmo 2022 in Paris, on the presentation of the new eyewear collections and ‘Substance’ Honey collection – Photography by Amanda Sellem exclusively for Eyestylist.com
The new surface adds a discreet aesthetic look to the frame which is minimal, refined and completely different from other 3D printed frame designs. The collection also features smooth 3D printed frames and styles with a texture of “shattered earth”. The model Rigi in the Substance Mount collection features this effect. (https://www.rolf-spectacles.com/optical/substance-mount/rigi/).
The colour palette Colours in the collection for the new season range from natural stone, rock and nature inspired tones of grey, grey-blue, mocha and green as well as a few brighter colours which include a bright sapphire blue. All Substance frames are made from beans which originate from fast growing castor trees. The frame hinges, referred to as the ‘Flexlock hinge system’ are 3D printed at the same time and location as the frames themselves, further reducing impact on the planet. Find out more about Rolf Spectacles sustainable eyewear at www.rolf-spectacles.com