5th February 2013 Last month, Eyestylist.com met Simon Jablon, Creative Director, Linda Farrow and Tracy Sedino, Press & Marketing Director, at Linda Farrow HQ in London to discover what they have in store for 2013. This was an interesting and new experience as we were not very familiar with all the different collaborations that Linda Farrow is currently working on, and we also had an opportunity to see the extensive Linda Farrow Luxe line, which includes both sunglasses and spectacles, produced in titanium and featuring 18 to 24 carat gold plating.
“Linda, my mother started the company in the 70s,” explained Jablon. “At that time, she was producing incredible, innovative designs that have gone down in eyewear history; she was working with fashion houses like Pucci and Yves St Laurent.We brought the company back to life 10 years ago this year with vintage Linda Farrow, when we discovered my mum’s archive and things just took off from there. We launched our first collaboration with Eley Kishimoto. Now we are working with a variety of established and new emerging names, including Erdem, Jeremy Scott, Agent Provocateur and The Row, and the Linda Farrow Luxe collection is as strong as ever.”
Fashion is the central focus for this growing company, which was one of the first to take eyewear on to the catwalk. “We wanted to be a fashion accessory company, producing eyewear that is iconic, as my mother did. But we wanted to create something different and greater opportunity for designers to create from scratch. When we first brought the collections onto the catwalk, it was quite new, and stimulated editorials about eyewear that the press just wouldn’t have bothered with before then.”
For the Linda Farrow collaborations, Jablon is committed to pushing the boundaries and realising new ideas. “We are doing a lot of things that nobody else is doing. Some of the designs are harder to create than others but our production in Japan and France is next to none and we have access to some of the best materials, including luxury leather and Mazzucchelli acetates produced exclusively for us.”
Jablon and Sedino talk with excitement about 2013 and what’s coming up as they increase their focus on retail. ” We have a new website and new stores opening, from Hong Kong to London. Linda Farrow Luxe is growing, and we are releasing more than 100 styles each season, featuring collaborations with some of the most prolific designers of today.”
Our tour of the showrooms, even with press samples missing as they had been sent off to Paris, was inspiring, with so many ideas and innovations on the table. Eyestylist will share more Linda Farrow favourites as Spring approaches. CN http://us.lindafarrow.com/
For more on Linda Farrow with Erdem S/S13 collection, reviewed on Eyestylist, visit: www.eyestylist.com/2013/01/the-super-brights-2013
