When it came to eyewear at Optrafair, the devil was definitely in the detailing. Rory Brogan and Rob Moss found the flourishes were not necessarily intended for all to see, with a concentration of work on the inner sides and end tips.
When it came to eyewear at Optrafair, the devil was definitely in the detailing. Rory Brogan and Rob Moss found the flourishes were not necessarily intended for all to see, with a concentration of work on the inner sides and end tips.
A trip around Optrafair and its Boulevard in particular proved that Scandinavian design had taken to the UK in force and even if some of the companies weren’t strictly from Scandinavia, the influences were there to be seen.
It would be no exaggeration to say that this was the most colourful Optrafair, if not for attendance, but in the eyewear on show. Every stand was touched by a new sense of adventure, even if the most vibrant patterns and colours were saved for inner sides or temple tips.
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| Maui Jim's Turtle Bay |
The latest launches from J Lindeberg, Tiger of Sweden, Bond and Bjorn Borg were on show by Ego. Anders Feuk, a director of Ego International in Stockholm said the UK market was growing, with accounts and re-orders.
One of the themes with J Lindeberg was titanium frames with double bridges and the sunglasses were selling well, predominantly in London. ‘Johan Lindeberg loves the double bridge. There are still people wearing the old double-bridge styles and he does it in a new way, looking to the future,’ said Feuk. He added that Ego had brought its outworking designers in house, which had made a difference with the product.
Double bridges even made it into J Lindeberg’s acetate, with the horn-coloured Pictor 6, while Pictor 7 was a similar style with single bridge.
Tiger of Sweden’s offering was more colour-conscious (bottom left) and Feuk added that Tiger was one of the first firms to use coloured or patterned inner sides, taking the lead from Tiger suit linings. Bright acetate was not restricted to the inner sides, as the collection included models entirely of red acetate.
Feuk suggested there was ‘a retro Gatsby look’ to some of the latest designs.
The company is also developing a UK brand of eyewear with Lyle & Scott. It will be split into two collections, one more classic, and the Vintage range for the younger market.
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| Colours from Inspec's FCUK collection |
Ian McDermott of Ego UK suggested the UK launch would be January 2006, or at the earliest October 2005, and added that a UK name would help the company introduce its other brands to practices.
SHOC TREATMENT
Øyvind Bjerva, a Norwegian optometrist, and now eyewear creator of Shoc, pointed out that in contrast with the UK, people in their 50s and 60s in Scandinavia were more trendy and modern. However, he believed that the UK was changing and was now ready for frames like the Shoc titanium supras that were suited to progressives.
The designs, distributed by Caseco, look conservative at first, but have bold checked patterns on the inner sides. ‘Men like something that’s personalised. It doesn’t look too extravagant and they wear it for themselves,’ he said.
Colours of metallic blue and plum were common, along with ever-popular blacks and greys. There were also titanium frames that looked like acetate, in reds and oranges, as well as acetates in frosted blues and greens. He highlighted the link between fashion textiles and eyewear, as seen in the women’s line Art for Eye which featured pinks. The company did well with red frames in Scandinavia, said Bjerva, who carried out research on the correct shade of red. ‘It’s a warm red and even people with lighter skin can wear it well.’
There were titanium frames cut from a single block, giving a 3D look, and also new from Shoc was a double-bridge model. ‘I made it as an eye catcher and it is getting commercial,’ he explained. ‘I would have considered it too much a year ago, but I’m wearing it now.’
Shoc also used larger logos, for example in the blue and green crystal acetate sides. ‘We create a lot of “noise” on the sides, while the front gives a quiet impression.’
One model with a brown front and horn-like sides looked traditional, yet when combined with a striking red side it was a different story. Another eye-catching acetate side was a blue colour with a flowing or melt-like effect. ‘We care about good quality and have these accurately crafted frames made in Japan. We also try to give a touch of technology with some styles using complicated manufacturing.’
Bjerva is considering whether more traditional panto and oval designs are ready for a comeback, although he concedes it may be too early. Nonetheless, he is already making eyewear for wearers with bigger faces in 55, 56 and 57 sizes.
He said pracitioners should sell several frames to consumers, rather than making limits for them. Just as people change outfits after work to relax, they could think about doing so with their eyewear. ‘I find it comfortable to put on a super-light design with a double bridge, so perhaps practitioners should encourage consumers to choose a model with volume and then another that is slim and lightweight.’
As well as changing mood, he said that being able to change your eyewear was a way to attract attention. ‘It’s so unusual. It’s an intimate part of your dressing.’
Other Caseco lines were the French-made Oga, which translates as Scandinavian Spirit. There was an emphasis on aluminium in gun metals, inspired by architecture and suitable for young single-vision wearers or young presbyopes, said Caseco’s Jules Clarke. He described some of the styles as ‘quite aggressive’, with slightly curved fronts, others with heavy brow bars.
They sat alongside the multicoloured Koali line, named after a tropical plant. These follow the theme of ‘vibrance for life’, inspired by nature, for example a Comet moth. Again, colourful laminate acetates of raspberry ripple, oranges and reds were to the fore in the feminine line.
Along with the Danish Fleye line, Mads Orbesen of White Vision introduced the colourful designs of his new brands. In Derapage, interesting lens mountings were used, for example one with brightly-coloured rubber inserts, another held in four corners with metal joints, for a floating effect. Cylinder models use a cylinder hinge and include a double-sheet metal design.
In the Vanni line, brightly-coloured acetate was laser cut and polished, with peel-off layers. Some acetate was emboldened with fabric inside, while others had a plain front with a striped insert, for example orange and stone, carried through to the sides for contrast. Other examples had contrasting-coloured acetate inserts infilled in the tip. ‘Some details are not necessarily seen, but give interesting contrasts and combinations.
They’re still important and give an extra element to work on the frames,’ said Orbesen.
Metal-fronted models also carried the same principle of neat detailing on the temple tips of their plastic sides.
Soho Eyes were described as reasonably-priced, all with clip-ons that turned the lively frames into more subtle sunglasses. ‘You can’t see that it’s a clip and it’s very convenient,’ he added.
For Robin Totterman of Inspecs, the Scandinavian styling of his homeland had influenced the frames. ‘They’re very European, Scandinavian. Design is paramount for Scandinavians, not over-design. They are much more experimental and willing to try increasingly different things,’ he said, adding that the UK was now more accepting of these colours and shapes.
In a first for Inspecs, new product was launched at Optrafair prior to Mido, with nine designs in each range and six colour choices. ‘It makes sense,’ said Totterman. ‘A lot of people don’t go to Mido and we have new styles for each range.’
There was no shortage of colour in FCUK and French Connection, in what Totterman described as ‘cutting edge designs’. Inspecs had listened to feedback from customers, who wanted frames for smaller and larger face shapes on the back of demand.
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Exalt Cycle from Eyewear Europe |
There were multicolour combination frames of acetate and metal, some particularly stand-out acetates in fluorescent and crystal, others with horn features and checks. ‘You have to move ever-quicker. Fashion has definitely hit optics in a big way and even in retail optics you need to refresh your collections if you are to compete.’
Colourful inner sides and detailing, from Mary Quant checks to bamboo effects and animal prints, were a good sales point, said Totterman. ‘They make optical retailing more interesting.’
In a nod to the iPod, there were white acetates, an ‘iconic’ colour. Other designs were conservative on the outside, with horn on the inside, and in the case of dark frames, the paler inner-sides lightened the effect on the face.
Colourful detailing in acetate was also to the fore on Luxottica’s stand with Ray-Ban ophthalmics in pinks and lilacs, some with wide sides, others with triple laminating for multiple layers. Even Ray-Ban sunglasses used pinks and pastels in the large metal-surrounded shield styles. And aviators, which have been around for some time were definitely back in fashion.
All the fashion brands used plastics in bright-eyed colours such as ruby reds. Ermes Stefanutto, manager for the UK and Ireland said: ‘People are less cautious about colour and even in England customers are trying new colours especially in the plastics.’
Prada, know for a subtle and understated look, has light-blue in acetate, while both Prada and Miu Miu featured greens. ‘These colours are taken from the fashion shows and clothes, with lots of greens in the collections,’ added Stefanutto. Other trends with Prada sunglasses were cut outs on the acetate sides and small logos.
The first wholly-designed DKNY and Donna Karan lines were also on show. There were aluminium sides with varnished end tips, teamed with acetate fronts, as well as acetate models with colour combinations.
‘These collections have a lot of input from the fashion houses, with a synergy between the clothing and eyewear collections,’ said Stefanutto. He added that the pricing strategy of Donna Karan had been repositioned, at around £150 to the public, compared to £180-£200, while DKNY was in the £110-£120 price bracket.
Proving that colour was no obstacle for the 40-plus market was Cazal, whose UK representative Andy Heslop said that two years ago gold and silver and gold and brown with occasional colour was normal. ‘In the past six months there has been so much more colour, from aubergine to cherry red.
‘Our designs have always been bigger in eye size and the market is coming back to where Cazal is,’ said Heslop.
Cazal has also looked to designs past and reintroduced them, such as Model 943, a sunglass influenced by a 1950s Cadillac. ‘The colours are also going retro, with pinks and whites on sunglasses,’ he said.
A massive 85 new styles were launched by Metzler, with the trend for inner-side detailing seen with Jeff Banks. This was based around interpretations of the Union Jack, described by managing director Geoff Thomas as ‘giving perceived value’. He said there was more demand for vibrant colours and detailing on frames, for example a hinge with the subtle impression of the flag.
The ‘bling thing’ was very popular, said Thomas, with diamanté teamed up with thick sides or down the side of the lens, for example the Revlon line.
The Reebok line used details from the sports company’s biggest selling shoe, the Classic, with acetate sides and metal fronts in contrasting colours.
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Animal sunglasses from Norville |
There were five frames with double bridges in contemporary styling in the own-name Metzler range. ‘We’re taking the classic shape and making it more modern. Bigger men are wearing these styles. There’s always someone who needs that sort of thing,’ said Thomas.
PORSCHE PACKAGE
There were launches from Porsche on the Rodenstock stand, with six new frames and six sunglasses, now fully designed by Rodenstock’s Munich design team. The masculine styles included wraparounds in fashion colours with mirror coats.
Model P’8003, in ultra-light titanium, has ‘swung’, ergonomically-shaped temples and this, along with model P’8404 with screwless len fixing, is used in Porsche Design’s consumer ad campaign.
Mike Potter said that Rodenstock had a defined strategy with stockists, with a package to buy into including a merchandising kit, with a stylish stand in the latest Porsche colours.
Some of the styles, for example a retro-looking aviator supra, have a 70s feel, but were very much new designs, using innovative materials and quality that matched the name and image the consumer would expect, said Potter.
Another development was TiRim, described as the thinnest full-rim developed, with a 1.4 mm rim profile in lightweight titanium, weighing 3.3gm. He described TiRim as the perfect spectacles when teamed with high-index Rodenstock-branded lenses. There are five full-rim frames, two for women, two for men and a unisex version, and these come with a clever cushioned plastic case to protect the lenses.
Also new is Pro Act 2, base-eight eyewear with ‘unlimited glazing possibilities’. Made from a two-component material, with special flex zones, the points in contact with the skin are in a softer material. The hinge has no exposed parts, and the models are built for normal-activity sports. The sunglasses, a masculine style and a softer unisex design, covered 80 per cent of prescriptions and come in SunContrast lenses or SunProtect in fashion black.
‘Thirty per cent of the population could benefit from Rx sports spectacles and with the old not getting old, they need the correct equipment for what they want to do. It’s a growth industry,’ said Potter.
Lightweight and colourful styles were to the fore at Silhouette, where Roger McClaren joked that the hingeless designs were ‘putting screw manufacturers out of business’. The company was patenting its technology as ‘you can’t patent a shape’.
There were black and white designs in SPX that looked like a heavy, chunky design, but was strong and lightweight. In fact, McLaren added that 98 per cent of the company’s output was lightweight. He said that frame design would not go back to the sizes of seven years ago. ‘Frame manufacturers like to say they are, but, while there are some style appreciators, it is not a fast-moving fashion industry.’
Marchon’s managing director (EMEA) Andy Skitmore described the CK Optical line as one of the best the company had ever produced. ‘We’re hitting it right for design,’ he said.
Along with two-tone acetates, such as a dark acetate with vibrant sea green on the inside or cranberry and lime green, orange and cantaloupe pink, there were laser etched double logos and cut out logos on the temple ends. Colours went as far as olive green on the outside, with a thin white centre and mustard on the inside. Other detailing included an end tip cut to reveal the under colour, and there was a powerful magnetic clip-on in CK 5111 and 5112.
Skitmore described the styles as more daring, suitable for 15-year-olds upwards and, as they came with a two-year warranty, gave quality, but affordable prices.
New from Marchon was Fendi, with expensive (up to €500), glamourous styles incorporating rhinestone crystals that went ‘back to the roots of Fendi’. Sunglass detail, for example, was taken from accessories of handbags and belts, with colourful acetates in reds and burgundy. The Fendi woman could have matching handbag, shoes and sunglasses, all in the same colour, with signature touches, for example, the mirror of the Vanity bag was carried through on the front of the sunglasses, with button details.
‘We’re very excited about Fendi. It’s our first European brand in Europe and the design is spot on,’ added Skitmore.
KORS WORK
Practitioners could also experience the glamour of Michael Kors, a big name in ‘casual luxury’ in the US. Skitmore described the line as ‘European glamour with US practicality’, and with a Marchon design centre in New York, there was a good connection with the brand.
The show material for the collection promotes a jet-set lifestyle, with big and bold sunglasses order of the day. An example is MKS 508 an oversized plastic suitable ‘from runway to resort’.
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Nadine Roth and David Bagnall from Face à Face reported a busy weekend at this year's Optrafair |
Metal aviators feature in MKS 101, while Michael Kors Collection logos are discretely engraved on temple chains and temple-tip screws in MKS 501 and 502.
There is also a diffusion line, Michael, with a competitive price point, for example the RRP of £60 for sunglasses.
Nike has introduced the Fresco line designed for young Europeans, bolder than the Flexon models, with wave temple tips following on from the sunglasses.
Elsewhere, in the moderate-priced sunglass sector, Dirty Dog were described by Jon Betteridge of the sales team as for people who want a product that performs at a sub-£50 price point. This, he said was important for ski goggles, that may only be used for 10 days, and led to multiple purchases of the sunglasses, some of which were high fashion with wide sides.
The designs use TR 90 plastic and monel in the metals. ‘The brand’s about fun. Colour is now important, especially the fade colours. We work in multicolours and mirrors are strong as well.’
Betteridge added that the company launched new styles throughout the year, with the latest featuring an ingot logo.
New to Optrafair this year, specialist US sunglass firm Kaenon Polarized presented a wealth of impressive product, both from an aesthetic and technological point of view. Since founder and president Steve Rosenberg left Oakley to establish Kaenon, his new company has won various awards and received positive reviews in sport and style magazines alike.
That’s not too surprising when you consider he combines design from the like of Alain Mikli with a proprietary resin-based material, SR-91, which Kaenon said took ‘polarised lens technology to the next level’. It is neither glass, polycarbonate nor CR39, but combines the optical clarity of glass with the lightweight and impact resistance of a polycarbonate. Mikli styling is most evident in the Stone model, which combines the French designer’s curves with a sportier, beach-bound attitude.
New is Kaenon’s Variant series, a collection of unisex, rimless sport glasses in five lens shapes with four lens colours: copper 12, copper 50, grey 12 and yellow 35. The numbers relate to Kaenon’s Light Transmission Control, describing the amount of visible light transmitted.
Kaenon Polarized’s Graeme Russell said that all but one of the styles could accept its own SR-91 Rx lenses in single vision between -3.00 and +5.00DS, up to 2.00DC.
At Maui Jim, as well as Polynesian dancers in grass skirts, the stand featured a seemingly grey mural that only showed its true colours when viewed through a polarised lens.
The impressive Hawaii 310 has rimless glass polarised lenses mounted on to a Flexon three-piece frame. Maui Jim’s Sean Collins said the final product exuded quality. When put under a twisting test, the bridge took all the stress and deformation, giving confidence that the glass lenses and their mounts would be unaffected. Six other styles also come with Flexon technology.
Meanwhile new to the MJ Sport line, Turtle Bay 411 gives extra lens coverage to the sides, with polycarbonate lenses and a grilamid frame.
Current sunglass trends towards vintage and classic fashion doesn’t necessarily fit well with the ultramodern styling you might associate with Oakley. The design team at Oakley, however, has come up trumps with the likes of Riddle, available only since Monday (May 16), which combines a single-piece visor lens with a contemporary take on a classic style. There were even layered acetates, surely a first at Oakley.
Similarly the Crosshair is Oakley’s spin on the current aviator revival. It features the C5 frame material and comes in an 8.75 base lens curvature in seven frame-lens colour combinations.
This was the second year that Rudy Project has exhibited, but this time it came en force with the Rudy Project truck. Celebrating its 20th year, Rudy Project’s piece de resistance is the Perception, a fully integrated sports sunglass with easy-fitting optical inserts. The Flip-up system allows the sun lenses to be clipped over the frame holding an optical insert. If the wearer then decides that he wants to wear his contact lenses, the clip-on can be removed, the sun lenses removed from the clip and then inserted in to the slot vacated by the optical insert.
At Bushnell Performance Optics, its Bollé and Serengeti brands are the subject of a new Rx programme with specialist Italian glass lens maker Barberini. This includes all 6- and 8-base models, with a two-week turnaround. There is also an extensive range of polarisation available and photochromic options.
Six-base frames can generally be glazed for -7.00 to +3.50DS, up to +3.00DC, while 8-base models can be glazed with -3.50 to +2.75DS and up to +3.00DC.
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Trussardi, one of the new |
Serengeti’s borosilicate glass lenses are scratch resistant and chemically tempered for strength. Each lens is drop tested with a steel ball to ensure top impact resistance.
Bushnell’s communications director Dawne Warren stressed how Serengeti lenses also block and filter around 95 per cent of blue light, helping to eliminate eye strain and fatigue.
Flair UK’s Stephen Brazell spoke of a recent publicity stunt in Germany where one of Flair’s frames is shown before and after an elephant stands on it. Of course, the frame is unscathed.
Brazell felt the UK market was opening its mind to more continental ideas, with some of the dramatic corners in the more Germanic designs being accepted here. He was also keen to extol the virtues of Flair’s new hinge on the Jet Set 715. While appearing more like a design feature, the highly technical ball hinge requires no screws, needs no oil, and guarantees optimal motion of the temples. The frame comes in four colours: anthracite grey, coffee brown, black and blue, and silver.
John McKiernan, director of Merchamp Optical, distributes O&X New York, one of two collections from Kio Yamato Optics of the US. He was also showing the well-priced Keenly, a range of bold but accessible French designs, as well as the eyewear for kids clothing range Catimini. He believed that the current climate in optics was ideal for small independent firms such as his, as more practices attempted to differentiate themselves from the multiples.
Richard Ward, director of Scandinavian Eyewear distributor SaSha Eyewear, said its products were ‘innovative, interesting and individual’. He carries four brands: Artic, Efva Attling, Skaga and Birka. The Artic line has impressive strip titanium with great details on the temples, while Birka offers colourful acetates and metals.
Continental Eyewear’s advertising over recent months has helped create widespread recognition for its X-eyes line. Reinforcing that message, Vanessa Long, the model used in the imagery to promote the brand, appeared on the X-eyes stand.
Sales and marketing director Neal Grimason was thrilled with its success as it is now distributed in 38 countries. He was particularly pleased because it hadn’t affected sales of its other brands. ‘Opticians want to write six cheques at the end of the month, not 36,’ he said, explaining the broad offering that helped practices achieve that.
Another brand with oodles of exposure, is Playboy. Howard Librae, group managing director of Brulimar Optical, said that it was performing ‘beyond expectations’ and the frames were eminently wearable. ‘There’s a great feelgood factor which generates a sexual quality – but that’s sex with a small s not a capital S.’
Details such as rabbit-ear-shaped end tips, and the option of drill-mounting the Playboy bunny logo directly on to the lens, are just some of the features of this 39-model optical line with 22 sunglasses.
A sunglass collection with a big difference was launched at Optrafair for the first time this year by Sunproof, UK and Ireland distributors for BabyBanz. Director Jouko Nykanen said there were three reasons to get babies and toddlers in their first pair of sunnies. Firstly, to protect their eyes; secondly, it teaches them the importance of sun protection and acclimatises them to wearing sunglasses in later life; and thirdly, because they are ‘funky and fashionable’.
BabyBanz are designed for 0-2 years, while 2-5-year-olds are catered for by KidsBanz. Perhaps unsurprisingly, pink and blue are the best-selling colours. A third product for adults takes the BabyBanz elastic headstrap design into the activity sport market. Nykanen described this as half way between a sunglass and a goggle. Invented in Perth, BabyBanz have sold 2 million pairs worldwide, 100,000 in the UK. Any order of more than 2,500 pairs can be rebranded to the clients’ wishes.
Andrew Actman announced at the show that his next UK high-street fashion brand will be Hobbs, but for now he was concentrating on Eyewear by Reiss, which had its own stand in the Boulevard area. The Reiss collection includes eight mens’ and six women’s styles. Throughout the collection Actman has provided quirks of detail that will impress the wearer, and as usual the whole retailing experience is addressed, with even a special inward folding Reiss bag to complete the package.
Optoplast launched its Ghost collection two years ago. Designer Clare Wood said the range was very feminine but without being too fancy. There are 30 models, each available in three colours. Optoplast also previewed its Ben Sherman optical line which will be available from January 2006. Just for men for the time being, the designs include some classic British looks, even including elements of the Union flag.