Eyestylist

17th April 2012 These 1960s larger-than-life styles Koko and Fuz, pictured above, are by Oliver Goldsmith, and they are very much still a feature of the present Oliver Goldsmith collections in this pristine stand-out white, a colour Audrey Hepburn wore so well (in Two for a Road). It’s statement vintage styling at its best – big squares and rounds are a perfect choice as we go into spring/summer and much is owed to Oliver Goldsmith for this and many more 1960s trends in sunwear that happily live on. Square, by the way, is fighting its way back in while everyone talks about the round styles…. I expect it to grow and grow as an important, characterful trend for 2013….

I have visited the Oliver Goldsmith store in Notting Hill on a number of occasions – it is full of treasures, new and vintage, by the Goldsmith family – now also including Claire Goldsmith’s label Legacy. This is also where you can have a bespoke sunglass made up should you wish to see the full vintage collection and have one of the designs re-created. The shop is around the corner from colourful Portobello Road and near some fine cafes, delis and restaurants. One of London’s finest eyewear emporiums…CN

Oliver Goldsmith, 15 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, London W11 1HA www.olivergoldsmith.com

Image (top): Front cover, Vanity Fair, May 1965, provided courtesy of Claire Goldsmith, Oliver Goldsmith.

RES/REI, Italy

16th April 2012 The frame company Res/Rei, a small producer of handmade frames with a lovely simplicity and elegance, have launched a Limited Edition which caught my eye last month. The company has sourced acetate from the 1980s and 1990s to produce the ten colour sets in the collection, which it says, have been flying off the shelves….they are super limited, given the small amount of patterned vintage acetate found. Some of the frames are one-offs, otherwise they are produced in tiny batches of 3 or 4.

The firm is by no means the first to use materials from the past in its present lines, but it has done it with clever results. I have seen some other stunning designs using vintage materials at a number of labels this year, including great ones by Thierry Lasry and Robert Marc. I expect there are more out there I haven’t seen, any suggestions? www.resrei.com CN

14th April 2012 Dots are very much in fashion as the vintage revival revs up for summer and there are good examples to be found in frames, including some that were brought to my attention by Iris et Prunelle L’Opticien Lunetier, by Moschino. The French accessory specialists Valrose have this pretty polka dot line which I saw in Munich earlier in the year. This is a purse-style case for the finest catseye or butterfly. Valrose also produce brightly coloured felt cases which have always caught my eye; view this brightly themed collection in full at www.valrose.net CN

Michaela Kühn, Berlin Fashion Film Maker

13th April 2012 “I’ve been interested in vintage since I was a little girl. During the late 1970’s and 1980’s, I was very impressed with old films from the 1930’s to the 60’s. So in effect, it was much more interesting for me to check out the old dresses and coats of my grandmother’s wardrobe, than it was to buy moon washed jeans and adidas basketball sneakers. Vintage appeals because I like the classical look, to show the waist and look feminine. The quality of most pieces I have is fantastic. On one hand, it is charming to know that all my vintage stuff tells stories about the past. On the other hand, I feel much better wearing used clothes and have old furniture, than to be part of an unfair industry of big businesses. I shop for Vintage everywhere I go on my journeys – flea markets, stores and ebay. My favourite shops in Berlin are cache coeur, and Lunettes Selection (www.lunettes-selection.de). Almost every piece of furniture I have is from flea markets or shops. I restore most pieces myself. And here we are at the same point: the quality is ten times better than all the new stuff. My favourite vintage furniture piece is a Finnish teak dining table from the 1950’s, from Berlin Magasin (www.magasin-berlin.de) and my 1940’s sunglasses from Lunettes Selection. The other favourite piece is my black silk-velvet 1920’s coat with art-deco lining. I found this in Berlin at cache coeur.” (www.cachecoeur.de) JG