A new ‘Framed Opticians’ has opened this month in Chorlton in the UK featuring a selection of fresh independent collections. Beech Road in Chorlton (Manchester) provided an exciting, long-awaited opportunity for the independent optical retailer to expand with the opening of its third shop. The area offers a wealth of like minded, independent and ethical business, and a thriving community, committed to supporting small businesses and ‘shopping small’. It’s also full of fashion-aware individuals, who see their eyewear as an accessory through which they can express their style.
The store has a brand new, minimal design combining natural wood textures, with graphic lines and muted colours of grey and terracotta. With focus on eyewear styling, the staff have many years of experience under their belt; whether customers visit knowing exactly what they want, feel stuck in a stylerut, or need guidance on what suits them, the team are on hand to help them choose something that fits perfectly, suiting their style and personality, and most importantly, something enjoyable to wear. The boutique is currently stocking independent brands like Moscot, Booth&Bruce, and some special, colourful design lines such as FACE A FACE.
All customers require is an up-to-date prescription, and one of the shop’s optical experts will guide them in the correct lens and eyewear choices. Through the pandemic and current restrictions, the shop is open for customers “by appointment” and for passers-by in restricted numbers. Framed Opticians has two other branches in London (Angel) and central Manchester (King Street). Framed Opticians, 113 Beech Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9EQ Find out more: www.framedopticians.co.uk
Falvin Eyewear: contemporary, luxury style
Virtual products showcase: Birgitte Falvin’s creative concepts in modern luxury eyewear design extend to the new titanium models – Arctic and Equator, two lightweight sunglasses with harmonious colours and finishes.
In typical Danish style, the unisex model Arctic balances a minimal titanium structure with a two-tone colour scheme conceived to flatter and enhance skin tones – choose from Falvin’s signature eye-catching bright matt fire opal with matt rose gold to a more demure yet modern matt onyx combined with sophisticated mat black gold. Above: the innovative styles from Falvin, in a shoot by Danish photographer Henrik Adamsen featuring Marina Ohm (@marinaohm) and Patrycja Walczak (@patrycja.walczak).
The hexagonal shape of the Arctic is informed by The Crystal, an environmentally friendly extension of Nykredit headquarters at the Kalvebod Brygge waterfront in Copenhagen.
The Equator model has a delicate oval eye shape, with a small “opening” in the upper corners. Colours are equally sophisticated, with choices which include matt fire opal with matt rose gold or matt topas with matt 24 carat gold.
All of Falvin’s premium designs can be decorated with luxurious diamond settings; Falvin works with a highly skilled Danish jeweller and offers this bespoke service for those customers who wish to personalise their frame with that extra special touch. Falvin shows at the Hall of Frames trade fair, Zurich on 13th/14th September 2020.
Since the start of lockdown, Falvin has created an online showroom, by appointment, to give their customers a privileged view of their stylish collection, from the comfort of their own home or office space. Please use the email following to arrange an appointment. Product: Arctic and Equator Brand: Falvin Eyewear (Denmark) Website: www.falvineyewear.com Contact address: [email protected]
About the Eyestylist virtual products showcase: the Eyestylist virtual products showcase offers a unique launchpad for new avantgarde, artisan or luxury eyewear and sunglass products – through Autumn 2020. The showcase is an initiative designed to connect Eyestylist readers and specialist designers in the absence of international trade fairs + launch events due to the Coronavirus pandemic. For more details email [email protected].
Sustainable trends: Ferilli Eyewear: Italian flair, sustainable materials
Virtual products showcase: Sustainable trends – The first brand of eyewear to produce a dedicated sustainable collection made from locally sourced prickly pear fibre and other sustainable materials such as olive wood and ebony, the young up-and-coming eco-conscious label Ferilli Eyewear successfully combines refined style and keen pricing in frames designed with a conscience, made to the strictest quality standards in Italy.
Their new line – “Aéras” ( “air” in Greek), is composed of six new unisex models inspired by the beautiful villages of Puglia in Southern Italy – with names such as Ostuni, Castro, Leuca and Porto Badisco. In this line, the focus was to “lighten the silhouette of the frame and highlight the Italian design, the lightweight quality and artisanal precision of the details.”
The prickly pear cactus has become increasingly desirable in recent years and as well as having health properties – it is popular in skincare and as a supplement for healthy hair – it is even being studied for the production of earth-friendly plastic. In the Ferilli Eyewear collection, the patterned finish of the natural material creates a unique and eye-catching element for the fronts of the sunglasses.
Ferilli Eyewear: close-up of the unique patterning of the material, applied on birch wood in layers and covered with an eco-friendly resin
Trained as an optician, founder Cristiano Ferilli was born in Lecce in Puglia and has a special fondness for the region and its beautiful landscape. His eyewear collection uses the raw material, Sikalindi from the prickly pear cactus. The fibre needed for the sunglass production is obtained by a patented and completely eco-friendly method of dehydration without the use of pollutants.
Ferilli Eyewear won “Best Ecological Sunglasses of the Year” in 2019 at the Monaco International Optics Trophies – the title “Maker of Merit” at the Maker Faire Rome (2019) – and was selected among the best young Italian designers in the “Showcase” – AltaRoma – Rome (2020).
Product: Aéras Collection Brand: Ferilli Eyewear Website: https://en.ferillieyewear.com Contact address: [email protected]
About the Eyestylist virtual products showcase: the Eyestylist virtual products showcase offers a unique launchpad for new avantgarde, artisan or luxury eyewear and sunglass products – through Autumn 2020. The showcase is an initiative designed to connect Eyestylist readers and specialist designers in the absence of international trade fairs + launch events due to the Coronavirus pandemic. For more details email [email protected].
Christian Roth: cat’s eye model Firi
The Firi is back: photographed by Alexander DiGenova
Christian Roth’s Firi sunglasses come from a tradition of iconic eyewear designs, modelled in signature ultra-beveled acetate. The style is featured in Roth’s new campaign by Alexander DiGenova, the 23 year old designer, photographer and creative director.
Above: Juliana wears Firi by Christian Roth, described as a “punky cateye design” – photography by Alexander DiGenova
Set in his Los Angeles apartment, Alexander enlisted his fellow creative muses, models and friends isolated with him in lockdown earlier this year, to embody the spirit of the eyewear.
“A bold, sculptural silhouette is perfect on Juliana and reminiscent of her essence,” said Alexander. Though in her early 20s, Juliana has traveled the world three times over and is fluent in French. Her monochromatic aesthetic is never complete without sunglasses.”
Product: Firi cat’s eye Brand: Christian Roth Website: www.dita.com Contact address: [email protected]
About the Eyestylist virtual products showcase: the Eyestylist virtual products showcase offers a unique launchpad for new avantgarde, artisan or luxury eyewear and sunglass products – through Autumn 2020. The showcase is an initiative designed to connect Eyestylist readers and specialist designers in the absence of international trade fairs + launch events due to the Coronavirus pandemic. For more details email [email protected].
JF Rey: dynamic and experimental design
Virtual products showcase: JF Rey’s dynamic, upbeat and experimental collections see new entries for autumn, with highlights including architecturally-informed designs, an interesting submarine inspired concept and more 3D spectacle shapes inspired by the amazing natural complexity and design of the structure of a shell. Above: the Shell concept is created in stainless steel – the colours are applied by hand. Photography: Ulrich Hartmann
This concept is informed by the Nautilus submarine: its cutting-edge technology and high-tech engineering are a subtle reference to the portholes scanning the depths of the sea. Its complex shape results from a technical 3D-printing process, with a stainless-steel and nylon combination on the front and both side shells of the frame, while playing graphic contrast rectangle/round shape. The creative process is based on seeking out quality and unique lightness in materials along with excellence and functionality in the design. Black colour and soft matt finishing on the front strengthen the assertive and bold allure of the model. A contemporary and distinctive look specially cut out for adventurous people and protecting the gaze from light rays, wind and water splashes.
These eye-catching glasses (Concept Shell at JF Rey) have been imagined in the spirit of a shell, around the idea of a harmonious cocoon for women’s eyes. Crafted from fine quality stainless-steel, it strikes with its distinct octagonal shape achieved in an extreme fineness, airy lightness and bold avant-garde influences. Volumes appear in a delicate geometric construction playing the contrasts of shape and colours in a distinctive graphic spirit. The combination of pink gold and luminous poppy red elegantly combine with the lofty constructions. Handmade colorization on the front highlights the elegance and the precious styling of the model.
The result of technical and visual research, this frame – Concept Wave – offers a fluid, lightweight, and moving design. The modern and graphic style is achieved by the folding and coloring of thin stainless-steel strips. The style is given its character through a game in which fine metal lines bend, cross, overlap and vibrate on the front in a light and airy structure. Each stainless-steel element is individually folded, colored by hand and assembled on the frame according to a specially graphics construction.
Product: JF Rey collections “Wave, “Shell”, “Nautinew” Brand: JF Rey Website: www.jfrey.fr Contact address: [email protected]
About the Eyestylist virtual products showcase: the Eyestylist virtual products showcase offers a unique launchpad for new avantgarde, artisan or luxury eyewear and sunglass products – through Autumn 2020. The showcase is an initiative designed to connect Eyestylist readers and specialist designers in the absence of international trade fairs + launch events due to the Coronavirus pandemic. For more details email [email protected].