Eyestylist

British Firm Celebrates 20th Anniversary

26th August 2012 The celebration of Kirk Originals’ Twenty Collection transports me back to when I first met Jason and Karen Kirk in London – twenty years ago! He had produced his first collection, and I was impressed with the creativity, quality, originality, and Jason’s passion for eyewear. First impressions last – twenty years on, Kirk Originals continues to design stylish handmade frames with authenticity, power and punch. The Twenty Collection’s Stripe (above) is beautifully crafted in acetate with a shape that blends retro and contemporary. Great colours too – vermillion, jet, ice and cobalt. Happy Anniversary KO! www.kirkoriginals.com JG

Megan Trimble talks to Eyestylist.com

24th August 2012 I find it very exciting that some brands are now producing new sunglasses collections for Autumn/Winter, not just Spring/Summer. London-based Zanzan was introduced in 2009 by Gareth Townshend and Megan Trimble and presents itself as a fashion label for fashion lovers. Its latest launch for Autumn/Winter features rich vintage acetate, jewel tones such as soft yellow and ruby red, and classics like crystal and tortoise. Produced in limited editions, the designs are bold and theatrical, with details such as trendy gloss or matt finishes and statement patterning. Eyestylist.com asked Megan Trimble about the label’s direction and its plans for 2013, which include the launch of a first spectacles collection. (Above: Erzulie by Zanzan).

Why are you producing your frames in the UK? Please explain the benefits? We can make a really first rate product here and ‘Handmade in England’ is important to us. The benefit, for us, is the proximity but for our customers it means that we can produce something that’s uncompromised creatively and a little more exclusive.

Are you sticking with a small elite fashion clientele? 
No, we are growing. Scale is important for fashion companies and the aim of every business should be ‘juggernaut’. If you don’t sell, then you lose the right to be creative – and the capacity – so it’s important. We’re producing collections in Italy and France for S/S 2013 and a supporting cast of products – fancy sunglass straps, sunglass cases and more.
Your campaign styling is extremely cool and sexy. Do you do your own shoots? Who is involved?
I am responsible for overall creative direction of everything we do but we work with a photographer called Jon Gorrigan and the stylist, Simone Konu. Both are brilliant. We are also very reliant on the very talented  hairdresser, Carl Reeves. We flew him in!

Are you expanding into new stores?
It’s important for us to be in stores that see things the same way we do. Our distribution has, and will be, tightly controlled but that doesn’t exclude opticians. We’re really a fashion brand that makes glasses but we do have an optical collection planned for next year.

Where can you find the new collection of Zanzan sunglasses?
This collection is available at www.farfetch.com It’s an experiment really. You can also buy the sunglasses in Departmentstore Quartier 206, Berlin. We just fell in love with the store on a recent trip, happened to have our collection one us and they loved it!
What does Zanzan represent for you?
Fantasy. Joy. Fun. Zanzan is the pursuit of a dream and a passion to create really beautiful things. ‘If you want reality get on a bus’!

Zanzan sunglasses are priced from £260.00 and are available online at www.farfetch.com Further information at www.zanzan.co.uk CN

For more on Zanzan visit: https://www.eyestylist.com/2012/04/1970s-super-round-chic/

Liberty of London & Jono Hennessy Collaboration

22nd August 2012 Australian based Jono Hennessy has just released a lovely collection uniting the beauty of Liberty of London’s colourful fabrics, and Hennessy’s frame expertise. Louise Sceats explains: “Our joy is working with people who are craftsmen and love what they make. For us to use Liberty of London fabrics with our special interlayer lamination technique is a great honour. Each acetate block is laminated individually, and then milled into the eyewear shape.

“Behind clear acetate, the jewel like fabrics come alive in colour and detail, and they look great, especially against skin tones. In this year’s selection of Limited Edition fabrics, we are inspired by the vibrant, yet cool colours of the islands in Greece and italy. We hope that by using Liberty of London fabrics, we are bringing attention to Liberty’s historic skill and design.” www.jonohennessy.com JG

Brilliant, Bright Colours from Kirk Originals

20th August 2012 Colour has always been the hallmark of the Kirk Originals collections. Jason and Karen Kirk  (above) share with Eyestylist.com their fascination with colour.

“Colour expresses emotion, and coloured eyewear makes a suggestion about the personality behind the eyewear. It fascinated us that the same colour can suggest different things according to its context or the timing of its use. The Beam Collection is a riot of bold hues and has been very well received. Amethyst, coral, aquamarine are all unusual colours in optics, but the public has embraced them. We suspect that these bright, joyful colours are a welcome antidote to the atmosphere of economic gloom.

“Our new autumn launch, Twenty, is a collection that celebrates our first twenty years of optical design.  It incorporates traits of our work from different collections through the years, one of which is our use of colour, which will be bold, saturated, but sophisticated and suggesting warmth and confidence. It is amazing how colours can feel right one season, and then not quite so right the following year. We work very much on personal feeling.” www.kirkoriginals.com JG