The new Roman Numeral V collection from the St Louis family-owned heritage brand launches this month
Eyestylist

Erker’s 1879: family tradition with contemporary flair

Silmo 2022: a stage for innovation and design
The international optics fair takes place this month from 23rd to 26th September 2022 – the organisers promise a “return to normal” and an unforgettable experience of optics and eyewear through four days
The industry is preparing for a lively and buzzing Silmo in 2022, with high hopes of a return to pre-pandemic international attendance at the upcoming Paris event. Exhibitors from Japan, USA and further afield as well as Europe – have booked to return to the event this year, following a period of time, due to the global pandemic, in which it has been complicated or near impossible to travel long distance. Above: the design brand FOLC Eyewear from Barcelona will return to Silmo this year. Their frames have a glamorous sculptural style which fuses with fascinating colours and bold silhouettes, www.folc-eyewear.com

Among the highlights of the Silmo ‘optical’ weekend programme will be Silmo NEXT, a showcase for creativity and innovation comprising lectures, talks and workshops exploring new technologies such as the Metaverse and smart glasses, as well as focus on ‘savoir-faire’ via the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF) an exhibit which will highlight craft and heritage in the production of eyewear and demonstrating that the present and future are inextricably linked.
The Silmo d’Or awards are always a point of interest and excitement during Silmo. This year, the 10 categories include the very competitive and highly acclaimed prizes for Best Optical Frame and Best Sunglasses ‘Eyewear Designer’ categories.

The fair organisers have also announced a new initiative called the Optical Design Contest, overseen in 2022 by designer and creative director, Emmanuel Gallina. This competition aims to stimulate creativity and innovation and encourage talent for the optical industry in the future.

Diffuser Tokyo, the luxury accessories brand from Japan, will exhibit at Silmo this year with a range of cases, cords and one-of-a-kind stands and storage pieces suited to high-level retailers, creative boutiques and eyewear connoisseurs. Check out the brand here: www.diffuser-tokyo.com

Struktur launches Director Light and Paris Light, two ‘perforated metal’ styles which play with a structural concept and bright combinations of colours. Comfort and lightness are always considered in combination with the striking design details proposed at this French independent eyewear brand. www.struktur-eyewear.fr

Götti Switzerland has just released a small taste of its titanium styles which will launch for the Paris fair. Models Duncan and Denis are classic aviators offering a bold and futuristic statement style. The frames come in shiny metallic combinations with a very original look using tones of violet and apricot, silver and copper and apple green and yellow. www.gotti.ch

About SILMO 2022: the fair (trade only) takes place at Paris Nord Villepinte from 23rd to 26th September 2022. This year the roster of independent labels showing include: Carlotta’s Village Dabrach, Diffuser Tokyo (Joy Every Time), Fleye, FACE A FACE, FOLC Eyewear, Gotti Switzerland, Kirk and Kirk, Lafont Paris, MOREL, Nina Our, Res/Rei, Rolf Spectacles, Sea2see and Veronika Wildgruber. The SILMO d’Or awards – much coveted prizes which recognise outstanding design and innovation – will be announced during the weekend of the event. To register, and find out more: visit www.silmoparis.com

Ørgreen Optics: the power of color
A film on color by Ørgreen Optics is launched by the Danish company today, via www.orgreenoptics.com and www.eyestylist.com Created in Copenhagen, the film follows the reflections of Sahra Lysell, long-term Color Advisor at Ørgreen Optics – interviewed by Clodagh Norton / Eyestylist.com, – Petra Kleis, Photographer and Allan R Kruse, Creative Director.
The film tells each of the interviewee’s personal experiences, memories, and colour influences as well as exploring their ideas on using colors in their work. Lysell, who has worked as the color specialist at Ørgreen since 1997, is one-of-a kind in terms of her specialism in developing color palettes in the optical industry. In the films she discusses approaches to color in the field of eyewear citing examples of how she combines specific colours to create a particular look or transforms colors which have a particular association into something new and fresh – combining them with different tones or hues. Lysell also explains many of the far-reaching personal and cultural influences she feels have impacted her views on color and wearing color, through her career, some of which continue to influence her eyewear palettes today. Above: new styles were released in the very contemporary HAVN collection last week: demonstrating the “flowing colour palette” at the Danish brand
“I live in a city where you apply color to walls, to old buildings… I live in a very historical part of the town,” she explains about her home in Copenhagen. “That tells a lot of story actually through color….”
In the film Lysell also explains how on-trend color palettes and iconic ‘classical’ tones have evolved through the years at Ørgreen, often coexisting in combination, and irrespective of color trends in other disciplines.
Petra Kleis – a photographer based in Copenhagen – provides insights into a photographer’s relationship with color stories. “I really like the 3-dimensional feeling that colour can give you, and the softness,” she notes. “I use color a lot but it’s really rare that I ask why I use this colour and not that colour.” Allan R. Cruse, Creative Director reflects on topics such as early colour influences in childhood, and his area of expertise, branding, core values and how a colour language relates to and represents an important element of our vision of the world. For more information : www.orgreenoptics.com

Kirk & Kirk pop-up opens in Shoreditch
“Connecting with the customer, raising visibility…”
Kirk & Kirk have opened a pop-up store in Redchurch Street, in Shoreditch, one of London’s most prestigious fashion, food and lifestyle destinations. The gallery-like space, which presents the Kirk & Kirk frames in bright neon boxes against a stark white backdrop, offers a complete introduction to the eyewear collection and its history, with video presentation and virtual try-on as well as the actual frames on display.
“The pop-up is open for a month in this location,” Jason Kirk told Eyestylist on Friday at the launch. “For us it is a chance to raise the visibility of the brand, listen and interact with the public, and explore another way to retail Kirk & Kirk which we hope will inspire and create new opportunities. Our plan is to roll-out this pop-up in other places in the UK and abroad.”
Kirk & Kirk offers the only eyewear collection produced in colorful Italian acrylic, a material that is lightweight, pleasurable to wear and translucent. Based in Brighton and producing their collection in traditional frame factories in France, the company has a rich heritage and brand story, dating back to the early decades of the 20th century when Jason’s ancestors – Sidney and Percy set up Kirk Brothers’ first London workshop in 1919. Today, the collections are sold in more than 40 countries, offering a mix of styles and designs that appeal to many age groups and tastes, with a colour palette that is based on striking neon tones, and signature hues such as blue moon, ‘passion’ pink and citrus orange. Pop-up opening times: Monday to Saturday 11 to 4pm / Sunday 11am to 4pm – 81, Redchurch Street, London E2 7DJ / the pop-up shop is open in Redchurch Street until 29th September, 2022. For more details visit www.kirkandkirk.com

Exclusive preview: “Color is…” by Ørgreen Optics
Ørgreen Optics to present short film on the power of color
The Danish eyewear company Ørgreen Optics announces the release of a short film about color and its power and influence in our daily lives – to be launched by Ørgreen Optics and the Eyestylist.com platform next Tuesday.
The film was shot in Copenhagen and follows the reflections of Sahra Lysell, long-term Color Advisor at Ørgreen Optics – interviewed by Clodagh Norton / Eyestylist.com – Petra Kleis, Photographer and Allan R Kruse, Creative Director. The film was directed by Giordano Capuano and Shyu Ashida at Ørgreen HQ. Below: PREVIEW clip of the new film on color by Ørgreen Optics, releasing in a few days
Ørgreen Optics is well known for its ability to create adventurous and futuristic color-infused designs across a wide choice of materials with different intensities, vibrancies and translucencies. Through the film, the company sets in motion a new study of one of its areas of unique creativity and expertise, one which has always been deeply ingrained in its DNA and which has – and will – continue to be a driving force for its innovation and design style, now and for the future. Find out more at www.orgreenoptics.com