Eyestylist

22nd July 2014 Fly fishing and design? It’s not as unconnected as one might imagine. Shane Baum at Leisure Society reflects on his love of fly fishing for Eyestylist.

“I grew up fishing with my pops, grandpa, aunts and uncles. Some of my fondest memories are being a child with a fishing rod in hand, casting and reeling. At some point, I grew a little bored with it all and sat idle for a decade or two, other than open ocean fishing on surf trips. Fast forward to my introduction to fly fishing. The movement of it all seemed so elegant and refined. Something you could only acquire through years of experience. My first cast was pathetically awkward. The entire prospect of it seemed impossible, but over time the technique revealed itself.  Then I went to my first fly shop. I asked the gentleman at the counter how many flys they stocked. He said “about thirteen hundred…”

“I thought about that for a second and asked, ‘how do you know which ones to use’? He replied: “Well, it depends on the hatch. Which bugs are hatching and at what state. It depends on the water temperature, the air temperature, the water depth, the water clarity, the flow rate, the time of day, the barometric pressure, whether the fish are spawning or not. It depends on whether it’s sunny or cloudy or windy, raining……” he went on. I thought about it and said ‘this is for me.’ It’s the opposite of tic tac toe. A game you can pursue for the rest of your life and never master. It’s not unlike design  – you never really master design. You just learn as you go and keep trying, come what may…”

www.leisure-society.com JG

Top photo: Shane wears Trotter sunglasses in black from The Leisure Society Collection

Who is the Shiniest of All?

18th July 2014 Let your light shine this summer with mega-shiny mirrored lenses by ic! berlin. Electrified colours include gold, silver and crimson, available in super-cool shapes and unexpected textures for men and women. Above: Fahrlehrer Klaus with camouflage temples.

Summer shimmer for men in Namless 2012 – check out the superb temple detailing.

Raf S gets electrified in green with splendid crimson and silver mirrored lenses. This is definitely the summer to glow!

Bravo to Germany from Eyestylist on their World Cup success! Ralph Anderl popped on a plane to Brazil to track down Team Germany and give each player their own personalized ic! berlin sunglasses. Ralph is wearing die wetterfahne in chrome with glistening silver mirrored lenses. www.ic-berlin.de JG

15th July 2014 Ultra thin, super light frames are among the marvels of modern eyewear. Wizardry techniques allow designers to create frames with featherweight statistics and mega-style. Spin & Stow innovation by Sven Götti at Götti Switzerland enables 360° rotation of the temple. The outer edge of the temple rotates inwards to fit within the inner front of the glasses. Travel+Leisure Magazine awarded the Spin & Stow sunglass collection the Best Travel Fashion and Accessories category for 2013. Above: Kosima – elegant and chic.

A glamorous, voluminous shape characterizes Xandro, also by Götti Switzerland, and features the easy to fold-and-tuck-in-your-pocket Spin & Stow temples. www.gotti.ch In the UK, Götti is available at Alderley Eyecare in Alderly Edge – www.alderleyeyecare.co.uk – and in Northampton at TK&S Optometrist – www.tks-optometrists.co.uk

Silhouette’s main message for eyewear has always been to create frames that are extremely lightweight, beautifully crafted and streamlined. That philosophy continues today for the Austrian-based company, that is celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. Silhouette frames have even been in outer space with astronauts! Centre Court will gather admiring glances with its slick, sophisticated styling in luxurious sand. www.silhouette.com JG

Eyewear Guru Julia Gogosha Selects Her Favourites

11th July 2014 “It’s pretty impossible to choose, but here goes – these are a few of my favourite frames. I’ve worn the RVS Palladium (above) for years. I feel like I’m in “Spy vs Spy”  hheeee hheee!”

Thierry Lasry x Miroslava Duma Limited Edition has been a favourite from the moment it came out. Two hundred forty-seven pieces were made from this vintage mosaic acetate. It manages to be neutral and special at the same time.”

“I find it very difficult to wear metal frames. They either don’t make enough of a statement or too much for my features. I found the newly released Mykita Sigur strikes the perfect chord of unique and subtle.” www.gogosha.com JG

‘Post-industrial’ eyewear newcomer

8th July 2014 The independent eyewear segment is literally bursting with new names – and we are seeing these on a daily basis; at Eyestylist.com, we continue to search out and report on the ones showing a special direction in design, unique aesthetic or authentic artisan approach.

Launched this year in May, Vava Eyewear is a Berlin based label with Portuguese roots, founded by Pedro da Silva. “I’ve been in the Fashion Industry since graduating as a Textile Engineer,” said Silva in an interview with Eyestylist following the brand’s first successful launch at Tranoi last week. “I have worked as a senior manager in companies such as Mephisto, Inditex (Zara), Hugo Boss and more recently VF Corporation. Last year I was living between Lugano and Milan when I decided to move to Berlin to launch my own company.”

“My goal was to create a label in which I try to express my vision of the world and the future. The concept is closely linked to the “post-industrial” society in which we live, and the growing belief of belonging to a “post-human” age.”

A music and art lover and vintage eyewear enthusiast, da Silva is also hooked on the 80s.”80s design always fascinated me. The square, simple aesthetics of computers, the first drum machines and design in general. My idea was to start from there and still create something new.”

I’m also interested in Bauhaus and minimalism. I always liked basic shapes, and admire artists like Sol Lewitt, Kazimir Malevich or Josef Albers.  VAVA designs have the same minimalistic and architectural approach. I like to see eyewear as an architectural piece.”

While the intense use of colour is what first drew our attention to this collection, Silva is also very specific on detail such as quality and production. “The brand is driven by attention to detail and outstanding quality,” he explains emphatically. ” We work with very professional and experienced eyewear technicians and designers, who share the same philosophy, what gives great consistency to the project.  The collection is handmade at a small family-owned Italian factory, and we pride ourselves in avoiding mass production.” www.vavaeyewear.com CN