Eyestylist

Iggy Pop for Cutler and Gross x The Great Frog

20th May 2022

A new collaboration of distinction / Iggy Pop in Jack Waterlot campaign

An exclusive eyewear edition by Cutler and Gross and British Rock ‘n’ Roll jewellers, The Great Frog, launches today online at www.cutlerandgross.com as Iggy Pop is revealed as the face of the campaign. Photographed by Jack Waterlot in Coral Gables – the musician is seen in close up wearing the sunglass models, TGF rings including the silver rose and skull rings and a thick silver chain. Above: Iggy Pop wears The Crossbones Sunglasses in olive

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Iggy Pop: “These shades say something.”* – The Reaper Sunglasses in a transparent blood-red Bordeaux

The Cutler and Gross x The Great Frog eyewear designs have been created in a complex process of production in Italy with special development of the iconic TGF 925 silver details which are hand cast and appear on fronts and/or temples; the Reaper, Crossbones and Dagger, symbols of The Great Frog. The collection launched comprises five unisex styles; three sunglasses and two opticals in a palette of colours which includes classic black, leaf green and a cool pewter grey. The colleciton is available in Cutler and Gross and The Great Frog stores as well as online. To find out more visit www.thegreatfroglondon.com and www.cutlerandgross.com / Written by Clodagh Norton www.eyestylist.com

Arts + travel

Akoni parties at TANK in London

19th May 2022

Presentation of S/S collection and new campaign at TANK GPS space

On Wednesday 18^th May, 2022, AKONI Creative Director Salma Rachid and CEO Rosario Toscano, and Caroline Issa hosted key press and VIP guests at TANK to present the AKONI S/S ’22 collection and campaign featuring work by Lea Colombo.

The AKONI collection, which is inspired by wristwatches, writing instruments and other precious heirloom designs, has quickly begun to establish a name for itself as a reference for luxury, incorporating the latest advances in frame materials, craft and technology as well as technical details which include a distinctive threaded-tube screw system.

AKONI event London – Photography by David M. Benett/Getty Images – Keon Heelee, Stephen Odubola and Baek Do Hyun

Attendees included Stephen Odubola, Donna Wallace, Noella Coursaris Musunka, Appiok Dier Tong, Amya Powell, Tilly Main, Zac Stenmark, Casey James, Reece Clarke, Tatyana Kodzayeva, Brett Staniland, Keon Heelee, Emmanuel, Baek Do Hyun and Eyestylist.com. Akoni designs, manufactures and distributes luxury eyewear as an independent company promoting craftsmanship, expertise and quality. In June 2020, French luxury fashion maison Balmain signed a deal with Akoni for a collection which has become talked about for its Japanese production quality and expert craftsmanship. An additional new luxury brand is already in the pipeline and soon to be announced. For more details about the AKONI eyewear collection visit: www.akoni.ch

City guides

opti 2022: return to ‘live’

18th May 2022

The Munich event celebrated the return of face-to-face meetings, friendly conversations and the bringing together of the industry again

opti 2022, which took place on the weekend of 13th to 15th May, following numerous prior disruptions from the pandemic, has been celebrated as an ideal reunion for brands and business partners, opticians and optical ‘friends’. A convivial and relaxed atmosphere, where visitors could have direct access to some of the finest established and emerging independent labels in the business meant that there was much opportunity for new inspiration, trend analysis and fresh and exciting buying opportunities for all those interested in unique eyewear. Above: Clodagh Norton, Eyestylist.com and co-founder of Lunettes ALF, Germain Bouchara – ‘catching up after over two years’ – photography by Julien Alazard

French label Lunettes ALF is distributed by Wolf Continental in Germany – green was one of the most popular fresh colours for eyewear at opti

Lunettes ALF, a brand that is already well established in Germany, exhibited as part of Wolf Continental, the House of Independent Quality Eyewear working with a selection of luxury and artisan brands including ALF, Lasry, and Frank Custom in the German-speaking region.

LEINZ Eyewear won the opti BOX award at opti 2022

Among the highlights of the weekend was a win by LEINZ Eyewear, who received the opti Box Award. Beate Leinz is a well-known eyewear designer and her young eponymous label has a captivating, creative contemporary design focus with consistent interest in quality, originality and modern materials such as 3D printed polyamide – exploring the materials’ potential in glamorous forms.

Several brands we do not know so well caught our eye at the fair, and a particularly warm welcome was appreciated at Lazare Studio, a label born in Lyon and headed by the optician (of Entre-Vues) and creator, Alexandre Caton. His expertise in and passion for vintage has translated into a collection that is innovative and surprising – where the choice of materials, weight distribution and technical details such as hinges are highly considered and result in a quite different outcome in terms of the experience of the frame and how it feels to wear.

Newton by Lazare Studio: minimal lines, sharp edges, directly inspired by 1940s eyewear styles

Newton by Lazare Studio is representative of the ‘neo retro’ design work at the French brand. Each frame is described as the result of the meeting of “two worlds that were never meant to collide. On the one hand, a selection of exclusive signature parts made from ancestral materials sourced from Japan, and on the other, the extraordinary savoir-faire of the Jura workshops in France.”

Interstellar in the Quantum High collection- Ørgreen Optics: 3D printed polyamide front, beta titanium wire temples with accent colours and an integrated hinge system

Other innovators such as Cutler and Gross, Blackfin, Rolf Spectacles, VAVA, Youmawo, Ørgreen Optics, J F REY, RIGARDS and RES/REI showed the season’s new collections with attention on sustainability, exceptional quality and new modes of design; contemporary materials were more eclectic than ever, with 3D printed, customisable and plant-based designs well represented alongside the classic high-quality and luxury materials like cellulose acetate, wood, buffalo horn and titanium. opti 2023 will take place on 27 to 29th January 2023. To read more about what we discovered at the shows this season follow Eyestylist on the website and our social media. For more details about the Munich fair, visit www.opti.de

Design + Inspiration

Haute Couture eyewear: made in Florence

16th May 2022

FATHER$ON eyewear by couturier designer Clarissa Oliverio – a bridge between past and future

The young couturier designer Clarissa Oliverio has created a collection of haute couture eyewear which features luxury Florentine fabrics and silver jewellery. Shown for the first time in Milan in May 2022, each piece is made by hand in Florence with a strict adherence to old-fashioned artisan design and handcrafting. Oliverio describes her designs as “the first glasses in the world set with the velvets and silk brocades of Florence, handmade with nineteenth-century looms, expertly created by the Master weavers of the historic Lisio Silk Art Foundation, established in 1971 to preserve and pass on the work of the Giuseppe Lisio 1906 Manufactory. This extraordinary foundation possesses looms from the end of the 19th century, and produces silk in the old-fashioned way, with just a few centimetres of fabric being produced in one day. Above: the model ‘Rinascimento Fiorentino’ (Florentine Renaissance) – has a structured design with a flat top in white Mazzucchelli acetate featuring a silver crocodile on the temple and silk brocade insert

Butterfly effect’ by FATHER$ON: oversized and glamorous, this Mazzucchelli acetate frame features silver work on the temples and silk velvet insert

“Our glasses are all handcrafted, as well as their precious decorations,” says Clarissa Oliverio, CEO and Couturier. “In addition to the insertion of velvets and silk brocades handmade with the looms from the late nineteenth century in Florence, our models boast silver jewellery applied to the frame, handcrafted by the well-known Florentine goldsmith Marco Cantini.”

*FATHER$ON eyewear from Florence: model Giglio (Lily) – a bold asymmetrical design with silver jewellery details and silk fabric inlay*

About the brand: FATHER$ON was founded by Clarissa Oliverio and the collection was launched for the first time at MIDO in 2022. Born and raised in Italy in the city of Como, better known as “Lake Como”, of parents who made and traded items in pure silk, Clarissa Oliverio grew up with a natural love of craftsmanship of hand-made silk items; through contact with her family’s workshop, she developed a strong passion and inclination for superior artisan creativity and historic modes of production by hand. In recent years she has dedicated herself to the creation of the FATHER$ON project, which was born as a family start-up. Working with her partner, Emanuele Dani, Florentine by birth, Clarissa has turned her artistic capabilities into a business reality that has been well received by the sector for its originality and style. She says: “Constancy and total dedication and an immeasurable passion for the creation of FATHER$ON eyewear always push us beyond the innumerable difficulties, but also towards the enormous satisfactions that an Italian start-up can encounter. We are Italians who are proud of the artistic history of their country, and we aim to create a link between truly creative design and the Italian excellence of the workmanship that passes between the expert hands of the Italian workshops and the historic ones of Florence.” Find out more: www.fathersonfirenze.com

Design + Inspiration

Gender-fluid frames at VAVA

12th May 2022

Preview opti 2022

Futuristic, monochromatic and built with sustainability at the forefront of their raison d’être, the latest collection from VAVA – which shows this weekend in the ‘opti’ trade fair – proposes gender-fluid sunglass styles with impressive shapes, presented in classical black or white and a calm yet striking fresh tone of aqua ‘haze’. The architectural shapes at VAVA often explore the elimination of superfluous compositional elements and work with minimalist concepts and simplicity with astute attention on technical precision. Above: The new campaign images for VAVA are the work of André Brito, a Porto-based fashion and nude photographer. Pictured, VAVA frame in white: WL0052

VAVA WL0049: a beautifully refined ‘structured’ shape for the face in the new collection – available in European and Asian fitting, sun and optical

The Spring/Summer collection was created in the context of the brand philosophy, – named VAVA THEOREM – which supports the intertwining of the needs of humans and Planet Earth.”It fuses our principles and actions in the pursuit of equilibrium that we are committed to follow. It’s about enhancement of people, protection of the environment, respect of ethical values and promotion of culture.”

VAVA WL0052 in the new colour ‘aqua haze matte’ – the aqua tone can represent balance and stability, as well as peace, growth and energy

VAVA frames are produced in Italy with a careful, modern, and wholly studied approach to sustainable manufacture. The VAVA ideology is to offer a high-quality product that embodies the experience, knowledge and art of the great masters of handmade eyewear. According to the brand, this knowledge is gradually being lost as we live in an era when mass-production flourishes and the use of low-quality materials dominates. VAVA seeks to foster a dialogue between craftsmanship and high-tech solutions.

The core concept of the brand is also closely linked to the “post-industrial” society in which we live. VAVA plays around with people’s imagination and “science fiction”. The creators are inspired by futuristic unisex characters, who have helped to create the minimal silhouette and monochromatic concepts. This unisex philosophy and minimalistic aesthetic – which VAVA believes is the future – are naturally interwoven into the brand DNA. VAVA will exhibit this weekend (13^th to 15^th May 2022) at the trade fair opti in Munich. Find out more at https://vavaeyewear.com

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