Eyewear With Innovative Engineering
1st February 2013 Lucas de Staël frames have always intrigued me – I’d seen the designs and liked the de Staël engineering concept, incorporating traditional frame making and fashion. So it was with pleasant anticipation that I made my way to de Staëls new workshop in the 19th arrondissement in Paris. Lucas was at the door to greet me, and I was escorted into a beehive of quiet activity where artisans craft the award-winning designs that Lucas so enjoys creating. His persona overflows with enthusiasm, passion and knowledge about frame making, and de Staël is involved in every step of each design and its production.
“Making fames like this takes a lot of time,” says de Staël, “and since we moved premises, there are fifteen people working here now. There is a lot of handwork involved in each frame – just one process can take up to an hour. Our team includes artists, engineers and architects. The main concept – and the main identification of our designs – is that there are no hinges; everything is in one piece. We make the parts inside our workshop, and use a special Swedish material that adds strength to our designs, without weight.”
In 2005, de Staël launched Undostrial – and in 2011 started his own collection – LDS – which won a Silmo d’Or in 2012. “The LDS collection is a more traditional range, with marquetry accents, plus goat skin and leather designs. We only use leather from the neck of the cow, so everything is supple and light.” Alexandre Lepeu designs the machines and tools that are used to create the frames. Lepeu and de Staël attended the School of Industrial Design in Paris, and met there as students. De Staël was fascinated with eyewear, and his first training with with Eye D’C in Marseille. “It was amazing,” recalls de Staël, “working right in front of the sea – it was so inspiring!”
With his recent Silmo d’Or award, and the vast new premises where the frames are all handmade with amazing design and construction ingenuity, de Staël is now ready to embrace the future. “We make only 4000 frames per year,” says de Staël, “we are a small producer, but now we are ready to grow. We are reaching world markets. Our best market is China; clients really like our designs. When I am quiet, I like to try different things. During the weekend and evenings I design, and work on new technical concepts. Creating the designs is even more interesting now!” www.undostrial.com www.lucasdestael.com JG
