305 familes producing hope, bags, hats, and pompoms in Brazil, Peru and Ecuador
Sustainable trends – This week our Friday spot is dedicated to Nannacay, a trusted sustainable accessories label – by business woman turned creative entrepreneur, Marcia Kemp. With a passion for travel, fashion, and community work, Kemp’s idea for the brand was to create a social fashion project, with benefit to communities in Latin America through their unique craftwork and artisan skill. The brand goes as far as providing orientation and training to the craftsmen and women who work on the styles.
Kemp collaborates with the communities to create a fashion line that is brightly colored and bold, handmade with a modern style that has become well-known in international fashion circles.
“Nannacay was awarded the Eco-Age Brandmark in recognition of strategically enhancing the lives of those involved in the creation of its products. Nannacay aims to preserve culture and improve its communities’ lives through fair trade.”
Above: Aura S/S 20 collection:Brigit Bag
With carefully selected sustainable materials such as wool, cotton, and recycled textiles, the handmade designs in the collection including this season’s Aura series, also feature exceptional designs using macrame and crochet derived from communities in Brazil. The label also continues to research new possibilities for the introduction of pieces featuring recycled materials.
Nannacay – meaning ” sisterhood of women” in the Peruvian indigenous language Quechua – is a fashion brand born to transform peoples lives through the making of unique accessories; the bag designs have far-reaching appeal for their balance of style and simplicity, with handmade details that are playful and tasteful, always with a gentle nod to the tribal patterns and time honored crafts from where they are born. Find more designs at https://nannacay.com
3D printed glasses
A constant flow of new collections and concepts
From high-tech sun-clips, combination designs (Polyamide fronts with titanium sides are popular) through to new collections by a healthy number of different types of company, the 3D printed eyewear choices are clearly pleasing wearers. The key properties of lightness and comfort alongside a growing variety of design options point to ongoing growth in this field where evolving design styles and more individualistic looks are now more readily available.
Above: Launched this month : Gotti Switzerland’s refined new sun clip (designed for models DAGO / DALE) – in titanium and 3D printed polyamide, offered in 12 colours and 4 different lens tints – www.gotti.ch
Modo’s 3D Lab collection, announced in June 2020, is the first 3D printed line in this company’s portfolio and is described as utilizing the latest in additive manufacturing. A wide choice of colours and styles are featured as is typical with 3D printed, with preference given to a high-tech matte surface. Temples are produced in beta titanium balancing the Polyamide front and creating – overall – a sleak and minimal finish. Find out more: www.modo.com
Start-ups have also taken a keen interest in the potential of 3D printing in eyewear – and highlight the sustainable production and ease of customization for sizing and fit. We’ve identified a selection of small labels like Liq Eyewear (www.liq-eyewear.es); started initially as a small project by Josep Mateo Muñoz, product designer at Creax Design, a design and innovation studio in Barcelona, the team has taken the line further to launch it online and through opticians – so far in Mallorca, Ibiza, Barcelona and locations in mainland Spain. A modern, cosmopolitan style balances fashion and technology in frames which are easy to wear, and produced “on demand” with reduction in waste. For more of the latest 3D printed product news follow our updates – For our latest review featuring 3D printed sunglasses (Côte du Soleil edition by neubau eyewear) visit: https://www.eyestylist.com/2020/06/maurice-by-neubau/ CN
Stylish specs – The Butterfly look: Sol Sol Ito 031 DP
The imaginative, gently curved SOL SOL ITO 031 DP is a frame that combines purity of design with a nod to femininity in its subtle soft lines. A statement shape, launched previously in shiny green, the Swiss independent label has now issued the style in different powerful red versions and a subtle ‘gold brown’ (pictured above) with gold-plated temples and brown temple ends. At a time when neutrals and ‘earthy’ shades such as deep, orange, ochre and clay are trending in fashion, this version in particular has a rich depth of tone that will transition well through autumn.
At Sol Sol Ito, each pair of sunglasses is limited to just 100 pieces worldwide. All the frames have a particular “click-in” temple design, an innovative feature for which design duo Monika Fink and Sandra Kaufmann have received much recognition. The collection is sold widely in fine optical stores including Auerbach & Steele in the UK. For online purchases, Sol Sol Ito’s sunglasses store has launched for the current season and can be found at https://de.solsolito.com/sunglasses Photography for Sol Sol Ito by Hans Hansen.
Reading glasses – The Friday Edit: “total relax” summer essentials
These particular products are on our wish list for the summer days ahead…
Preparing for staycations, balmy days of summer, moments of quiet relaxation, reflection or just a good read? In our Friday edit this week, we highlight three unique yet simple products that will lift your spirits and sense of well-being in the weeks to come. Above: Morpho + Luna’s silk eye pillow from “Les Irrésistibles” line
1. The “Les Irrésistibles” line of eye pillows makes use of archived fabric from past collections. As with the silk pieces at Morpho + Luna, the pillows are made in Italy from 100% pure silk and filled with meticulously cleaned wheat grown in Lancashire which helps to soothe and relax tired eyes whilst also being gentle on skin. Put a few drops of a favourite essential oil to the inner cotton pillow for added relaxation! https://morphoandluna.com
2. For reading glasses and sunglasses, Frank and Lucie (Netherlands) have updates in their collection, which explore pretty, delicate tones of aquamarine, seaweed and natural “watery” transparencies of ‘laguna’ and ‘morning swim’. Shapes are easy and well-proportioned with panto and round designs inspired by classic spectacles of the past. The collection also features sunglasses for reading and fun new eyewear chains. Find all the latest designs at www.frankandlucie.com
3. Alongside those moments of reading and rest, the Shed Soy Candle is a wonderfully luxurious treat with pure essential oils selected for their therapeutic and calming properties. The high quality scents will add an immediate feeling of wellbeing, while the design is unpretentious and minimal fitting perfectly with any decor – for home or work environments and a perfectly unique and elegant gift. Find our more: www.shedsoycandles.co.uk
Sustainable trends: Maurice by neubau
3-D printed bio-based sunglasses
Sustainable trends – Being a young and admittedly unseasoned fashion journalist – prior to working with Eyestylist, I had made my assumptions about the obvious rising ‘trend’ of environmentally friendly products across every aspect of the fashion industry. Be it in manufacturing, labour, materials – the emphasis and importance on where, why and how our clothing and accessories are made has never been so highlighted by the consumer and by the world. That being said, my expectations for ‘sustainable eyewear’ brands were minimal – if any. Sustainability and environmentalism within fashion has been an interest and niche of my own for a few years now and even so the number of sustainable eyewear brands releasing on the market came as a complete surprise – a very pleasant one at that.
neubau is known by most as the creative epicentre of Austria’s capital – similarly, with the 100% bio-based line of optical and sunglass frames ‘neubau’ eyewear – the independent lifestyle eyewear brand could very well be at the creative epicentre of progress in the sustainable eyewear segment. Their range is diverse – with anything from a minimal optical frame to a statement sunglass available.
neubau sent me the Maurice frames from their three-piece special edition collection; the other two styles are Romy and Alain. The Maurice style comes in evergreen matte/graphite or black coal matte/graphite frame/lens – I have the evergreen frame / amber lens and that particular colour pairing is beautifully different and eye-catching. The amber lenses are light on the eyes but succeed in blocking out harsh rays just as well as a black or dark grey lens – it must be noted that the lens production is equally technical in it’s own right; made of polycarbonate and providing 100% UVA/UVB UV400 protection – the optical clarity is flawless. The frame shape is sporty, sleek and lightweight with no compromise on comfort or durability. These particular sunglasses are made using neubau’s natural3D process – with an entirely natural material in a 3D printer. The material used is an oil extracted from castor oil plant seeds layered repeatedly with any excess material being made into other frames – ‘innovative’ does not do this completely circular, scientific and almost magical process justice. On top of the modern aesthetic, scientific facts and the physicality of the frame, the natural origins of the material means that the surface is basically pore-less and sits comfortably on the skin.
For further details and deeper insights into how neubau works I also thoroughly enjoyed the neubau blog, where enthralling stories, product details and updates on their See & Do Good initiative make for an engaging and informative read and explain how the sustainable focus is at the heart of this stunning collection and in neubau’s evolving story. Website and blog at www.neubau-eyewear.com A review by Victoria G. L. Brunton