Eyestylist

Portrait of Zoe Salaun

6th November 2012

by Tim Groen

6th November 2012 This portrait of Selima Salaun’s daughter, Zoe, caught our attention when we had the great pleasure of meeting designer-optician Selima for the first time in Paris. I am delighted to have had permission to be able to publish it. Photographed by Tim Groen (www.timgroen.com), the image is one of a series of Zoe and her classmates, alongside two professional models, in a new photographic presentation by Selima Optique described by the designer as a labour of love, created with friends. Born and raised in New York, Zoe, the youngest of Selima’s two children, is a freshman at McGill in Montreal.

Dedicated to the stars of French popular culture of the 1950s and 1960s, the frames featured in the new lookbook, such as the expressive Maricruz in red (worn by Zoe above), highlight the colourful palette and retro context of Selima’s hand-crafted designs. Hair looking gorgeous by Yves Durif, www.yvesdurif.com. www.selimaoptique.com CN

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Home

Paulino Spectacles

5th November 2012

Made in Portugal

5th November 2012 It is exciting to see the arrival of more small independent eyewear labels that are carrying family spectacle-making traditions forward again. Some of those we are getting to know are making their frames in workshops or spectacle ateliers where their forebears had produced and handfinished them in the past; they are not only using old techniques and old-fashioned tools for some of the work required to make a frame but also vintage components or materials that have been left in situ over time, and are now being rediscovered. Here is one from Portugal! I recently met John and Ramiro Paulino in London and they showed me the collection for 2012/13 which was launched in Lisbon this season at the elegant Optica Sacramento – www.eyestylist.com/2011/07/optica-do-sacramento-lisbon-portugal/.

Alberto_150a — Alberto by Paulino Spectacles

The label was born out of Ramiro’s desire to continue the heritage and craft of small-production spectacle-making that his grandfather began in the late 1930s. Paulino’s frames today are made of smooth high-quality acetate, and are styled on iconic shapes with adaptations for faces today. There is an overall elegance and sensitivity in the designs and the colours used as well as an astute attention in the detail such as the use of the little vintage pins which Ramiro found in the workshop. The Portuguese family roots of the label are well referenced; the spectacle cases are made of traditional Portuguese cork and the frames are named after members of the Paulino family, past and present. For more on Paulino Spectacles on Eyestylist.com, click on the link: www.eyestylist.com/2012/08/sara/. From what we hear, you will soon be able to find the collection in Covent Garden, London… updates coming. www.paulinospectacles.com CN

Monthly Titled

RG0006

1st November 2012

Rigards – Handmade for Your Face

Looking for a unique pair of sunglasses? Made of horn, this super oversized style is the creation of an independent label called Rigards who specialise in handmade horn designs using traditional production techniques. This is a first taste of this label on Eyestylist.com. I can’t really do their collection justice in a few lines but what I can say for this review is there is a lot of attention to hand finishing and detail here that deserves to be noticed, and the passion for quality, style and comfort is very strong. Made in an atelier in Hong Kong, these are one-off designs for connoisseurs of beautiful eyewear and each piece has a huge amount of character and individuality…the horn is carefully selected and is an organic by-product from water buffalos reared on small African farms so there is an eco-friendly element too. Each of the sunglass styles is individually numbered and produced in a limited series of 200 or 500 pieces.

Rigards Eyewear is coming soon to the UK www.layerslondon.com (be quick this Spring!) and available in France at L’Eclaireur (Paris) www.leclaireur.com and Royal Navy (Marseille). We have more details on Rigards designs coming soon. See the label’s website for insights and further information on stockists: http://rigards.com CN

Reviews

Dallas

1st November 2012

Anne et Valentin

Dallas is a little gem of a design for 2013, and one of probably 20 or 30 styles I saw in Paris that showed that creativity is really at a very high level in the ‘design’ collections for the coming year. An aviator with a 3-d bar at the top, highlighting the brow, which is inventive and yet simple, this sunglass style is an outstanding opportunity to wear something timeless and elegant, with a very astute attention to detail and finesse. My favourite colour is the black with jade pictured, and the pale pink with bright neon orange is a super fashion statement for next Spring. CN www.anneetvalentin.com

November

Eolie Collection

1st November 2012

Mondelliani Glasses

Another new label we stopped to see in Paris was Rome-based Mondelliani Glasses. Their Eolie Collection features a fresh colour palette inspired by the landscapes of the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Created by the owners of the Mondelliani optical shop in Rome and made in their entirety in Italy, the sunglasses are youthful, vibrant, and made in lovely acetate materials where a lot of attention is given to warm sunny colour tones and elegant bright colour pairings. The sunglass styles feature top-of-the-range sun lenses by Carl Zeiss Vision. A perfect choice for a warm holiday destination. www.mondelliani.it/home/ CN

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Portrait of Zoe Salaun

by Tim Groen

Paulino Spectacles

Made in Portugal

RG0006

Rigards – Handmade for Your Face

Dallas

Anne et Valentin

Eolie Collection

Mondelliani Glasses