Eyestylist

Classic Sunglasses – Original Penguin: The Cricket Sun

February 6th 2020

Classic sunglasses will be shining this Spring/Summer: 2020 appears to be heralding in a renewed love for all things elegant and refined and a style code for men and women that offers a smart, chic focus – from head-to-toe. For sunwear, and men’s styling, many decades will be referenced through shapes and colours – and distinctive details will embody a heritage spirit with sophistication and finesse.

Firmly classic: The Cricket Sun – inspired by iconic sunglasses of the 1950s

The Cricket by Original Penguin is one of those refined, easy styles to wear, built on traits of the 50s and a ‘Buddy Holly design’, with subtle updates and modifications that make the frame comfortable for a variety of face shapes. The frame is equipped with advanced quality polarized lenses, and the detailed, glossy colorations typical of the Original Penguin collections with choices ranging in this model from Black or Crystal, to Grey Sunset (top) and Tortoise (above). Find out more at https://www.kenmarkeyewear.com/

MIDO 6-8 February 2027. Welcome to Eyewearland

Arts + travel

Andy Warhol, Tate Modern, London

February 3rd 2020

A new exhibition of Andy Warhol’s work (12th March 2020 to 6th September 2020) at the Tate Modern, London promises a new look at the life and work of the pop art icon. Warhol (1928-87) was one of the most celebrated artists of the end of the 20th century and his life and work continue to inspire continued discussion and new interpretations. The unique nature of his work continues to inspire artists and creatives around the world.

This major retrospective, the first of its kind for almost 20 years, will feature iconic pop images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans, as well as work never shown before in the UK.

Twenty-five works from his Ladies and Gentlemen series – portraits of black and Latin drag queens and trans women – are shown for the first time in 30 years. Visitors will also be able to play with his floating Silver Clouds and experience the psychedelic multimedia environment of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, dated 1966 and featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground.

Image above: Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) Self Portrait 1986 – © 2019 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc / Artists Right Society (ARS) New York and DACS, London. The Andy Warhol Exhibition is organised by Tate Modern and Museum Ludwig, Cologne in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto and Dallas Museum of Art. For more information visit www.tate.org.uk

Design + Inspiration

Mykita: Light Narratives

February 3rd 2020

Photography by Mark Borthwick for Mykita: SS 2020

British photographer Mark Borthwick has worked with Mykita through a multitude of campaigns and his latest work for the brand – entitled Light Narratives – illustrates his characteristic unaffacted style and authentic approach with a particularly compelling mood. As storytelling goes, the imagery is perfectly in keeping with the personal aspect of Mykita design, capturing real faces and real glances and expressions in a landscape that is evocative and mesmerising, with wide-open spaces.

Created in a remote area of Portugal, the minimal imagery features deliberate contrasts in close-up portraits, group shots and landscapes, while across some of the photographs are the distinctive pink and lilac movements in light from the sun, a trait that is typical of the style of the photographer. Below: a short ‘behind the scenes’ film from the shoot in Portugal by Mark Borthwick.

The campaign images show frames styles in the Mykita Lite, Decades and No1 Sun collections, in contemporary stainless steel or acetate/steel combinations. In synergy with the photography and the neutral colour palette dominated by blue sky and tan earth, interspersed with flashes of bright crimson fabric, the eyewear designs come in pared down and classical tones of matte silver, champagne gold and black, with some unexpected twists and contrasts in a gentle purple bronze/pink clay combination and a topaz/shiny copper mix. For more information about the new SS20 styles now available at Mykita, visit www.mykita.com

Design + Inspiration

At 100% Optical London…

January 30th 2020

…these colours were standing out…

The UK’s showcase destination for eyewear fashion, 100% Optical, took place last weekend, at the well-known trade venue ExCel in East London. This British trade event for the optics industry presents a cross-section of technical products with a slew of seminars, debates and educational lectures for optical retailers, alongside a broad eyewear fashion “overview” where big and small brands present their lines, side by side.

Among hundreds of different types of eyewear showing across the hall, the creativity, design focus and innovation of the frame industry comes through in the representation of independent labels at the fair; their presence was widened in the 2020 edition with the addition of a small shared section dedicated to emerging talent: Covrt Project (London), Nina Mûr (Madrid), Lunettes Alf (Paris), Lowercase (NYC) and Manu Torres Atelier (Galicia) were particular highlights for lovers of finely crafted, spectacles and sunglasses.

Above: Lowercase from NYC was one of the notable additions in an area dedicated to small labels and newcomers. Built out of a love for eyewear and an appreciation for craftsmanship, Lowercase was established in 2016 by Gerard Masci and Brian Vallario. The team founded the company “with a mission to once again localize the trade of eyewear to the US. Every pair of Lowercase frames is made in the Brooklyn workshop from start to finish….”

Alium Race 2 – FACE A FACE – inspired by the sports aviator

Key colours: Across the show, the freshest statement colours that popped up time and again were bright canary yellow, Pantone “colour of the year” classic blue, and light purple/lilac – with several very pale interpretations of lilac through to pastel pink. The Alium collection by FACE A FACE (above) which combines extremely well aligned technical properties for comfort and longevity offered a mix of vibrant, on-trend colorations with a particularly stunning intensity. www.faceaface-paris.com

Nina Mûr + Malababa collab line – Metrica – Circle in Pale Pink

Nina Mûr from Madrid has a consistent and broad range of eyewear concepts – some created as collaborations. The label is focused on good quality and distinctive design and produces its collections in innovative and sustainable materials – predominantly wood with an artistic palette of tasteful, quality colour finishes. www.ninamur.com

An all-time favourite at 100%: model Cecil by Kirk and Kirk

The colorations at British label Kirk & Kirk are particularly eye-catching in the Centena collection, their unique acrylic line. Centena has some new “matt additions” shown at 100% for the first time and reported here: www.eyestylist.com/2020/01/kirk-kirk-centena-2/ – www.kirkandkirk.com

The French label Morel was also exhibiting at 100% this year. Morel’s expertise in minimal styling takes a new aesthetic twist with pretty seasonal colours and two-tone ideas in the S/S range. The hexagonal shaping of Morel model 30182L combines with the bold graduated transparent shade of blue, and a delicate soft pink, perfect for a lighter look for Spring. Find out more at www.morel-france.com

The annual RCA competition was won by Ely Yili Cao, Womenswear (Millinery) for her piece entitled ‘Your sight, sound and smell, my love.’ 100% Optical will take place at Excel London in 2021 from 23rd to 25th January 2021. For details visit www.100percentoptical.com. Feature written by Clodagh Norton exclusively for Eyestylist.com.

Reviews

Crafted with style: Coblens Stadtgarten

January 28th 2020

The harmonious colours, relaxing ambiance and natural beauty of the ‘Stadtgarten’, (in English, ‘city parks’) are behind a new line in acetate with titanium, by Coblens Eyewear (Germany). The company is known for its exclusive crafted titanium designs, and with Stadtgarten, it adds a new element to the design and presentation of the line, with a pure, translucent and colourful Japanese acetate.

Above: a new elegantly styled campaign identity illustrating the look, colour mix and fit of the frames on different faces. Model Rosengarten – pictured in a two-tone bold blue with translucent cappuccino hue was released this month. A deep square-ish eye shape with cat eye corners on the upper rim, the frame is also distinguished by visible vintage style rivets, two at each corner.

A two-tone front – model Rosengarten from the Stadtgarden collection by Coblens

Coblens is a German eyewear design company named after its city of origin, Koblenz (in old French Coblence). The brand has become a leading innovator in fashionable high-quality titanium frames, led by Ralf Schmidt and Nils Kaesemann.

All titanium materials by Coblens have exclusive PVD titanium coatings to achieve a wide range of special tonalities and to ensure a high-quality scratch-resistant, corrosion-resistant finish. For more information: www.coblens.com

A visit to …..Nina Mûr : the sustainable eyewear creators of Madrid

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