8th May 2012 Yesterday we featured an interview with Anna Zaboeva of Pleasemachine, and as a fan of recycling herself, she mentioned the Australian brand, Holloway Eyewear, which we have explored a little further. Based in Brisbane, Holloway is one of a new generation of labels focusing on sustainable production and recycled materials…others include the Eco line by Modo, and one of my favourites in this genre, the Catalan label, Vuerich B.
Reclaimed materials used by Holloway include anything from old skate boards to guitars. Founders Raffaele Persichetti and Martin Gordon Brown are committed to ecological awareness and manufacture that respects the environment, designing frames that are in tune with these values, whilst being trendy and desirable as fashion products.
Raffaele Persichetti: “We seek to maintain our existence with a better understanding of our impact and always act purposefully with tomorrow in mind. Our material capabilities are growing rapidly, and we’re getting into scavaging from hard industries like metals and stone. We’ve finished prototypes of the snowboard range and are playing round more with finishing in natural pigments and stains which are really changing the end product.”
For more details on Holloway Eyewear in Australia, visit www.hollowayeyewear.com.au
My Favourite Sunglasses
Anna Zaboeva, footwear designer, Pleasemachine, Budapest
7th May 2012 Our friends at CraftHunters.com have lead us to Anna Zaboeva, the Siberian-born shoe designer, and this great picture of her in vintage shades. I asked Anna about her work and her interest in eyewear.
“My label Pleasemachine Peculiar Footwear, is a beautiful blend of design and pure craftsmanship. Each pair of shoes is made in the traditional way, slowly and with passion, from fine leather and recycled textiles which I find on the street.
Recycling is a major area of my design and I have a great affinity with other modern designers who also do beautiful things using recycling. In terms of eyewear I’ve got a few cool and rare designs from Tipton (www.tipton.hu) made of recycled music vinyls, and still can’t choose which is my favorite among Holloway’s designs made of recycled skates, surf and snowboards (www.hollowayeyewear.com.au)
I consider the role of sunglasses in style and fashion to be very significant. It’s an essential accessory for me, and I have about a dozen favourites in my modest collection. Generally they are vintage – some without names, and from great fashion houses like Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. In the picture I am wearing vintage sunglasses which I have not been able to identify, I found them on the street. I like to wear things which are older than me or at least have a story behind them. An old, well-designed pair of sunglasses can make me look elegant, or hot, or funny or carefree, and sometimes all of these at once.
Comfort is always important too. I have quite a small nose so I have a hard time with frames that don’t have good nose pads that can elevate the frame off the cheeks, enough to avoid traces and prevent potential stretching of the skin.
Sometimes I do some work on a new or old frame myself, to get a perfect fit. Customized eyewear, from the fitting to the design, would be a dream for me. Just like I design and customise my shoes.” www.pleasemachine.net www.tipton.hu CN
My Favourite Sunglasses
Wild West Inspiration for Jono Hennessy
4th May 2012 “I’ve had a whole Western thing going on in my head for some time, and I love the combination of leather and metal. I found a vintage Western belt buckle in the market, and we commissioned two jewellery makers to actually carve the pattern in reverse for Rancho Deluxe, so that we could stamp the frame shape out. I designed the pattern specifically for the shape of this frame – it’s not just stamped out of a sheet. My favourite colour is the copper, like the rivets on old jeans, combined with a ‘Bentley-dashboard’ briar wood acetate temple – the light green sun lenses compliment this combination beautifully.
“We have started a new direction in sunglasses from last year, getting away from the heavy acetates. We are probably a little bit early at this stage, however, I am sure we will see more textured metal coming up at Silmo (the Paris optical fair).” www.jonohennessy.com JG
Tom Herrington
RockOptika
1st May 2012 On Thursday I visited Hastings, not so far from home, and a place that is full of surprises, from great food to vintage stores to art… I was visiting designer Tom Herrington at his optical shop by the sea! I love this little place and before I knew that it was Tom’s shop, the vintage vespa in the window had already caught my eye…
Tom greets me in ’60s French beret, black polo neck and his oversized Antibes sunglasses. First we take a look around the store which stocks collections you might not expect to find down here out of London, from Oliver Goldsmith to Kirk Originals, and people travel to find him…he loves to break the mould in his choices which is always refreshing.
A similar uniqueness is there at the heart of his own label, RockOptika, which he launched in Paris last September, after 15 years working with other independent eyewear labels in London. The present collection includes 10 very classy designs, 5 for girls and 5 for guys, including punk tortoiseshells (so cool!) and a favourite for me, a small round shape that fits beautifully on my narrow face. I also love the elegant and distinctive French lace.
Tom explains: “My frames are very nicely put together, produced in Italian acetate, and made in one of the traditional workshops in the Jura region of France. I go out there to see them being made, to check on every detail, from the width of the bridge to the final finish. The collection is strong on design, and I work for hours sketching from my imagination….I like the inspiration I get from the 1960s, sci-fi..I wanted strong retro but with a really modern feel. I use a lot of architectural angles which means the frames are quite flat, I think that’s interesting. ”
And the colours? “Well with very strong angles and very strong shapes, I have used classic colours…and that’s where I am trying to carve my niche. I like bordeaux and olive for guys who tend to be quite conservative in their colour choices. And I enjoy tortoisehell which is everywhere, but I think it works and has a lovely classic look, it is so stylish.
Do you follow trends? “There is a fine balance between following trends and doing something that is interesting. So I have classic tortoiseshell but I have added a punk tortoise; and I’ve used lace because it is trendy, but I’ve not used a predictable lace, it’s this incredible blue and gold, it’s wicked. In eyewear, you have to keep an eye on fashion because it drives the industry forward, but I like to do this with my own take on it.”
Asked to comment on what is coming up for next season, Tom tells me about his plans for a new campaign, some very special limited materials he has put away in preparation for the collection, and he alludes to some unique colour combinations…I am hoping for a preview myself in September!
RockOptika sunglasses and spectacles are available at Wolf & Badger, Notting Hill, London (www.wolfandbadger.com), McClintock, Covent Garden, London (www.mcclintock-eyewear.co.uk) and The Optical Lounge, Hastings. CN www.rockoptika.co.uk
Surya
REIZ
I first saw these sunglasses in Paris, in a showroom on Place des Vosges last year…..it was an amazingly sunny day, music playing, and the Reiz frames were looking pretty exciting…Surya is one of a collection using graduated colour in an inspired way…the styles in the range, men’s and women’s alike, echo just what the small but fabulous German Reiz brand is all about…individuality, simplicity, serious style, and 100% quality…it is a super idea if you don’t know what to get for your statement piece this season! www.reiz.net CN