Eyestylist

| Eyestylist 1st December 2019

Gift guide: Diffuser Tokyo accessories

Gift guide: Diffuser Tokyo eyewear accessories and leather jewellery for men and women

Diffuser’s range of accessories is part focused on eyewear, and part jewellery in its own right. Designed by Masaki Hirose who saw a lack of well-designed products in natural materials such as leather, the collection is extensive and well curated, expanding into neck cords and bracelets, as well as cases and cotton eyewear pouches in chic two-colour palettes.

Accessories at Diffuser Tokyo

Already popular in capital cities and stocked by department stores including Daimaru in Tokyo and the most exclusive optical retailers such as Decora, the brand has been recently “discovered” by European retailers and is gradually becoming more widely available in cities such as Paris and Berlin. Find them at Schoenhelden (Berlin), KLAR (Darmstadt, Germany), L’Artisan du Regard (Paris), Dunoyer Opticiens (Paris) and Bromptons Brighton (UK). Click on the link to view more products: https://diffuser-tokyo.com CN

| Eyestylist 27th November 2019

London optician: Auerbach & Steele, London

Auerbach & Steele have moved to a new location, a few doors down, at 123 Kings Road, London

The prestigious optical store on London’s fashionable Kings Road – Auerbach & Steele – has moved to a state-of-the-art 3 storey architect-designed retail space just a few doors down from its original location.

Visible from the street, a vast minimal contemporary open space at ground level is now home to one of the UK’s most comprehensive and diverse selections of fine independent eyewear collections for which the practice has become a trendsetter and point of reference.

Auerbach & Steele: a stunning display of innovative eyewear

Distributed through the basement and two further floors beyond the main retail space, the practice also offers 2 private consulting rooms for eye testing and styling appointments, its own lens lab and one of the UK’s most unique dedicated spaces for beautiful, colorful kid’s eyewear. In line with its reputation for clinical excellence, the new location is fitted with cutting edge testing equipment, for the most comprehensive eye examination.

High ceilings and beautiful displays at Auerbach & Steele, London

Curated by Gail Steele and a long-serving team of optics and design experts, the eyewear collections at Auerbach & Steele offer something for everyone including minimal design labels from Scandinavia, colorful British eyewear classics, exciting 3D printed frames and the most highly regarded avant-garde and statement eyewear from cities like Berlin and Zurich.

Gail Steele told Eyestylist: “Since we opened Auerbach & Steele in 1996, I have been dedicated to marrying absolute clinical and technical excellence alongside the dispensing of ever changing beautiful, cool and unusual frames which we source, and often have made,  from around the world. We are thrilled to now be able to offer our special service from our beautiful new luxurious space spread across four  floors.” Visit Auerbach & Steele at 123, King’s Road, London, SW3 www.auerbach-steele.com CN

| Eyestylist 26th November 2019

Winter sunglasses: Lapel by TBD Eyewear

TBD Eyewear (The Bespoke Dudes Eyewear) has a reputation for Italian design style at an affordable price, with sunglasses priced at under 200 euros. Like their bestselling unisex style, The Cran, a frame we have tried and tested (https://www.eyestylist.com/2019/01/the-cran-by-tbd-eyewear/) model Lapel offers an “easy” design for men with a vintage-infused, slightly squared shape suited to all kinds of faces. With a flattened top that has become a hugely popular detail for the current season across collections, the frame now comes in amber tortoise, honey or green tortoise, shades which are beautiful through winter, paired with decent UV protective lenses in well-selected tones of tobacco or bottle green.

Neopolitan influencer, style expert and founder of TBD, Fabio Attanasio, wears model Lapel in Amber

The TBD brand has dedicated itself to providing reliable delivery through its online service, and for those who seek a quick shopping option (pre-Xmas!) their frames arrive quickly and easily (delivery guarantee of 2-5 days). Founder of the independent label Fabio Attanasio is a well-known face in menswear, and his blog continues to be a faithful supporter of  good design, craftsmanship and tailoring across the men’s fashion industry and a great source of information on tailoring and artisan accessories. Find out more about the blog at http://www.thebespokedudes.com/en For the sunglasses and eyewear collections visit www.thebespokedudeseyewear.com – sign up for the newsletter for special offers. CN

| Eyestylist 21st November 2019

Rigards x Uma Wang exclusive collaboration

Sources of inspiration include ancient mosaics, 19th century eyewear + Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

A second collaboration series between artisan fashion designer Uma Wang and the avant-garde eyewear innovators from Hong Kong, Rigards caught the attention of Paris Fashion Week at the fashion designer’s much talked about RTW Spring 2020 catwalk show.

The two designs – UW5 and UW10 – are intentionally closely linked to the previous models, with an aesthetic derived from 19th century eyewear.  Above: backstage at Uma Wang, Paris Fashion Week – collaboration design UW10

UW10 (The Shanghai)

UW10, (a codename for the 10th anniversary of Wang’s brand) was undertaken as a follow-up design to the successful prior collaboration design, the UW1.

Conceived from a thread that runs through Wang’s latest collection (the golden age of Pompeii), Rigards’ Ti Kwa says they “zoomed in on the smallest element of the decorative arts of the Roman Empire, extrapolating it into something uncommonly inventive.”  An eco-friendly bio-acetate is used for the side shield inspired by ancient mosaic glass tiles—” these are as vivid now as they were 2000 years ago, relicts of Pompeii preserved by Vesuvius and the passage of time.”

Rigards x Uma Wang : UW10 (The Shanghai)

A further historic inspiration came from the extraordinary stained glass windows at Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, conceptualized by the great Antoni Gaudi and designed and produced by artist Joan Vila-Grau, a highlight of Kwa’s recent tour to Barcelona.
This frame, nicknamed “The Shanghai”, honors another artistic treasure, particularly dear to Wang. The exquisite Old Shanghai Art Deco stained glass windows are a legacy of the once-flourishing, now forgotten Jesuit Tushanwan Orphanage and its exceptional young foundling apprentices. The frame is produced in five spectacular shades, each one a literal rendering of seeing the world through tinted specs.

Rigards x Uma Wang UW5

With an aesthetic derived from 19th century eyeware, UW5 (The Victorian II) reflects the design vocabulary of UW3, a prior collaboration with a minimal silhouette.
The so called “owl-eye” style has been increased in size and thus works ideally for wider faces. “Building with copper allows the application of our exclusive, proprietary ‘Time Machine’ hand-aging process,” says Ti Kwa. “What emerged wer the most beautiful examples of metal coloring—expressive, painterly patina that further enhance the personality of the frames, as though weathered by the passing decades.”

Rigards x Uma Wang, backstage

Uma Wang’s Pompeii inspired show took place in Paris in September featuring the collaboration frames with Rigards on the catwalk.  For more information about the two brands visit www.rigards.com and www.umawang.com CN

| Eyestylist 18th November 2019

MYKITA, Bangkok

Industrial elements, custom-designed furniture, and colour and texture inspired by the Thai capital. A new MYKITA store has opened its doors in Bangkok, developed by the in-house architectural team at the German design house. Located in the Sindhorn village development in the Pathum Wan district, the shop defines the brand’s high-tech aesthetic in an open, minimal space with distinctive mirrored walls and delicate green foliage.

MYKITA Bangkok opened November 2019

The ground-level space has the familiar white interior and wall. Pale green touches are added on the expanded metal ceiling, eyewear storage trolleys and the metal detailing on the oak furniture. On approaching the shop, the entrance to the in-store optical lab is visible through floor-to-ceiling glass front, providing a showcase for the handcraft and high technology that defines MYKITA’s Modern Manufactory.

MYKITA Bangkok stocks the full collection of optical frames and sunglasses including the designer collaborations with Bernhard Willhelm and Maison Margiela. A Zeiss Vision Center provides comprehensive vision care. Sindhorn Village (Room C115/2), Soi Langsuan, 10330 Bangkok www.mykita.com