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Darkroom, London

1st June 2014

Debut eyewear collection with Larke Optics

1st June 2014 Darkroom is one of London’s finest concept stores, with a chic black exterior that would fit as easily into one of the design hot spots in Milan; located on Lamb’s Conduit Street, the shop represents the heart of this sophisticated destination for independent shops, menswear specialists and good food.

The interior offers a gallery like display of hard-to-find design and fashion products, textiles, jewellery and items from other parts of the world, including Africa and the Balkans, curated by owners Rhonda Drakeford and Lulu Roper-Caldbeck.

The latest addition is an eyewear collaboration with London’s Larke Optics, a series that marries this emerging British eyewear label’s handcrafted approach and detailed finishing with Darkroom’s singularly bold, graphic aesthetic, perfectly reflected through handpicked vintage acetates.

Larke’s founder, Laura Nicholson explains: “A strict monochrome palette has been chosen to emphasise Darkroom’s fascination with materials, surfaces and finishes used in architecture and furniture design.

The Italian acetates have been hand-selected to mimic the look of marble, terrazzo, mosaic and resin. These materials are playfully reappropriated and condensed into two signature shapes: Veda, a bold circular frame, and Gill, a thick-rimmed frame with a distinctive keyhole detail.”

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All frames by Larke are handmade in the UK in one of the last remaining family workshops. Prices from £295.00. CN

Darkroom, 52 Lamb’s Conduit Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 3LL

See the full collection online at: www.darkroomlondon.com/shop/designers/larke / Larke Optics www.larkeoptics.com

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Finest Seven for Emilia Wickstead

9th May 2014

Autumn/Winter 2014

9th May 2014 A favourite designer of the Duchess of Cambridge, New Zealand-born Emilia Wickstead has become one of the class acts of London Fashion Week. Her Autumn/Winter 2014 runway collection, praised for its elegance, highlighted a new touch of edgy chic with its leather and snakeskin – and bold flashes of colour, a powerful pink and elegant shades of tangerine. And there were sunglasses too – a new catwalk collaboration with independent brand Finest Seven, designed by Jesse Stevens – the talented luxury eyewear designer who also hails from New Zealand; perfectly in keeping with the overall tone of effortless glamour, these artisan sunglasses are designed in the UK and made in the Italian mountains by hand for exceptional quality and finish. Priced from £550.00, Finest Seven produces each heirloom design as a bespoke order.

Images courtesy of Emilia Wickstead and Finest Seven Ltd. For more information, and to order sunglasses directly from Finest Seven, visit www.finestseven.com

www.emiliawickstead.com CN

April

Amethyst

1st May 2014

RVS by V.

Super light and as colorful as ever, the Titanium Collection by Turkish label RVS by V. now features seven statement frames, in three different colourways – as sunglasses or glasses. The designs have a rubber-effect matte finish typical of the brand’s attention to detail and much featured in its acetate line. The ‘Amethyst’, in Black/Gold brings together a trendy split colour front – a look for the season – and small fluo details at the temple tips for a modern, edgy look. Now available worldwide and soon online at rvsbyv.com. CN

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Hapter at Ottica Fontani, Florence

9th January 2014

10th January 2014 Pitti Uomo has come round again, and there have been some eyewear brands of note in attendance. They include the award-winning Italian design label Hapter, whose frames are made from natural fibres and stainless steel.

Guests try out Hapter Eyewear — Pitti guests try Hapter Eyewear

The label’s opening event for Pitti took place in central Florence at Ottica Fontani on Wednesday – www.otticafontani.com. “We have launched our new window presentation at Ottica Fontani,” Eric Balzan, Founder at Hapter, told Eyestylist, on route to Munich, “you will see this display of our collection in top optical stores across Europe in the months ahead.” CN

www.hapter.it

Four

Beckett

1st January 2014

Anne & Valentin

Beckett was launched in Paris in the autumn – the name gives away the inspiration and design. A unisex style with classic intellectual overtones and a spiritual twist, the design is part of ‘Les Elegantes’, a collection that shows a new stroke of inspiration for Anne & Valentin: each model has been directly inspired by frames that have gone down in history. “Our designers worked hard to recreate classic shapes into modern, updated forms, taking advantage of the latest technologies. ‘Les Elegantes’ are the culmination of this quest : gold and silver rimmed frames, sometimes married with a chocolate brown accent, others with coal black.”

The designs are more subtly shaped than their predecessors, from the round or square pair of glasses to the beveled P3. The unexpected marriage of matte and gloss effects, and two-tone temples with Calder-style hinge, create an air of intrigue. From £308.00. www.anneetvalentin.com CN