Klaus Huber at Robert La Roche
28th October 2011 The next stop on our Austrian eyewear tour is to meet Klaus Huber, designer at Robert La Roche, the iconic brand who has been creating statement frames since the 1970’s. Klaus shares his design philosophy with Eyestylist.
“My inspiration for designs is life – it means that I travel a lot. In doing so, I let myself be inspired by urban life, even by the city I am living in. Vienna gives me a special attitude towards Imperial life, the culture and arts of a modern global city. Coupled with the past, it is a perfect ‘Viennese mélange’ – a Viennese coffee mixture. My approach to design is, as with sculptors, working on mass, which is brought by condensation or rejuvenation, into flowing forms. For me, haptics (the science applying tactile touch), sensation and control, plus interaction with computer application, is very important; facets and sloping areas guarantee a special look. Even the surface of the frame is specially shaped, which requires the best manual skills. We produce in Europe/Japan to achieve optimum quality. But it is getting more and more difficult to obtain the highest standards with competitive prices.
“Of course, I love to work with acetate – it feels silky, soft and warm. It is the kind of material where you can feel the special process in our glasses. I try to take care of Robert La Roche’s heritage. I don’t see myself as a caretaker. I rather want to bring the spirit of the past into the present, and develop it further into the future.” www.robert-laroche.com JG
Austrian Designers
Rolf Spectacles
26th October 2011 Austria is a country that likes to live in its illustrious past, but in no way is it parochial. Vienna remains a great cultural capital, and throughout the country, creativity and innovation abound. For several eyewear designers, their location in this beautiful country with its legendary history, has an enormous influence on their work and creative endeavours. Eyestylist talks to these award-winning Austrians who are a major force in eyewear. First, we meet Christian Wolf at Rolf Spectacles.
“Everybody on the Rolf team grew up in the Tyrolean Alps, and we love the beautiful environment, and the wide range of possibilities to enjoy nature. The Alps recharge our mind and body, and give us inspiration for our work. Our surroundings deeply influence our attitude and style of work. We want to create something unique in the field of eyewear production. The frames in our collections are all named and inspired by old cars – we love old cars. We have a dream to renovate one old car on each continent, and design a special frame for each one of them.
“We are a young and open-minded team of creative people who love to work with living materials. We place great value on regionalism and that is why we try to produce the frames in our own facilities. A production abroad is not to be considered. We look for special materials all over the world, and the finishing is done locally. We use stone, bamboo, and seven different kinds of wood for our frames. Our newest result is a combination of wood and stone, and who knows what is coming next! We love what we do, and we are who we are!” www.rolf-spectacles.com JG
Trend watch: aviator overtones
Fame by RVS by V. Hand Made Eyewear
25th October 2011 Here is another eye-catching tortoise sunglass style which also demonstrates a love of the aviator. We are seeing more and more modified pilot shapes for 2012, both in metal and acetate, with references to the very earliest designs from the 40s and 50s.
Fame by RVS by V., the Turkish label founded by Vidal Erkohen, is a new unisex sunglass model launched this autumn, which we are delighted to introduce on Eyestylist. Erkohen is a vintage eyewear enthusiast, and his own refined designs are handmade to the same quality as the rare vintage frames he has collected from the past.
Model Fame plays with the 2012 trend for round glasses, while also keeping the very popular aviator shape alive in the design of the frame. The outcome, explains RVS, is a shape that resembles protective eyewear of the 50s, worn by welders. These frames were usually fitted with flat lenses, a detail that has been picked up on in the design “because the lenses completed the look of the frame’s flat front beautifully.” Also offered in a gorgeous natural honey tone which we recommend. For more information on this company visit www.rvsbyv.com RVS by V. frames are available at Selima Optique, Paris, StureOptikern, Stockholm, Astrologo Ottica Srl, Roma, and The Monocle Order Inc, www.monocleorder.com. CN
Eyewear – A Visual History
Pure Optical Opulence
24th October 2011 Eyewear fans eagerly await the arrival in bookstores of Eyewear – a Visual History. This lavishly illustrated edition is the creation of New York collector and designer Moss Lipow. As an avowed collector, Lipow searched across the globe to find glasses that spanned the centuries. He has unearthed the fascinating history of a very practical apparatus, which has evolved into a mesmerizing international business – for those needing corrective lenses, as well as the fashionistas who adore glasses. Available in six languages – English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, this book is an eyewear joy. Published by Taschen. Images by kind permission of Taschen. www.taschen.com JG
Trend watch: tortoise for girls
20th October 2011 Tortoise is going to be a popular choice in 2012…and while it is traditionally more common in the men’s ranges, the women’s collections have a fair few treats in store…interpretations of tortoise colours and patterns are very luxurious and refined for next year.
I am delighted to have viewed the Vera Wang Salon collection 2012 this month.. featuring the sunglass style above, Paulette, a modified cat with lots of charm, combining tortoise with a contrasting gold side. This elegant model sums up the luxurious mood of tortoise and its more feminine side. www.verawang.com
At the British designer Claire Goldsmith, the exceptional Legacy Collection also features this stand-out design “Irwin”, a unisex shape but we love it as a choice for women….the depth of the patterning is very elegant and the shape is one that will please fans of updated retro. www.clairegoldsmith.com
One other strong example of tortoise that I have picked out is from the German company Lunettes Kollektion who specialise in vintage frames, but have this great modern collection combining characteristics from past and current epochs.The tortoise design Jeunesse Toujours can be worn as an optical or sunglass model. The light tortoise tone is very much on trend, and is extremely attractive paired with the green lenses, discreet but very strong as a style statement. Stunning. www.lunettes-kollektion.com
I have lots of other tortoise favourites at the moment so it is not easy to select just three! I might be reporting back with more favourites soon, for me they are modern-day classics that deserve another renaissance (and another… and another…) CN