Opportunities for opticians to seek out the most interesting brands at trade shows are scarce. In many instances, desire to do so may not even be there. However, the leftfield side of the market is where the trends of tomorrow can be found – albeit slightly diffused for mainstream consumption.
Jason and Karen Kirk have never been ones to follow too many trends and the debut collection for their new Kirk & Kirk brand eschewed much of what was seen at the event this year. Since parting ways with Kirk Originals last year, the pair have spent time planning their return into brand ownership while offering design and marketing advice for other companies in the eyewear sector.
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Big and bold is very much the order of the day with the Vivarium and Solarium collections, but acutely aware of comfort issues, styles in the new range are constructed from acrylic, reducing the weight considerably.
The new collection has a number of striking styling cues. The subtle metallic pastel colour palette is probably the most interesting aspect and in keeping with popular hues this season. Colours have a subtle shimmer rather than an obvious sparkle. Six hues are available – blue, Bordeaux, anthracite, brown, green and silver.
The Vivarium ophthalmic collection has been inspired by the Victorian’s obsession with science and nature and each frame is named after a celebrated scientist of the era. This inspiration manifests itself further in the small animal pins on the front of the frame. The pins, available in either 925 sterling silver or nine carat gold, are detailed and give the frame an added sense of depth.
Vivarium comprises eight styles, while there are four Solarium sunglass models, each with a subtle graduated mirror finish on the lenses.
Another eagerly anticipated release was the new collection from Yohji Yamamoto. The fashion designer is making his return into eyewear alongside Brando Eyewear, part of the Mondottica group.
‘Yohji Yamamoto remains one of the world’s most influential and enigmatic designers. Over the last 40 years he has made a vital contribution to fashion, challenging traditional norms of clothing with his style. Renowned for blurring the boundary between fashion and the arts, he has influenced theatrical and cinematic fashion, and his work has been exhibited worldwide,’ says a spokesperson for Mondottica.
Brando Eyewear says Yamamoto’s brief was simple: to create a collection which was ‘dramatic, avant-garde and/or intelligent’. It adds: ‘This beguiling collection investigates reconstruction through deconstruction. It is an exploration in depth of colour and an expression of Yamamoto’s rebellious spirit, his love of form, his skill in fit and cut.’
The ophthalmic frame and sunglass collection majors on the colour black to reflect the brand’s clothing collections. A special shade of black acetate with multiple dark colours has been created in conjunction with Mazzucchelli. Matching monochrome lenses have been specially developed by premium lens manufacturer Christian Dalloz in France.
Silhouettes across the range are unconventional, but will appeal to fans of the brand. Round shapes feature heavily and metal accents have a complementary dark chrome finish.
The burgeoning wooden frame section of the eyewear market shows no sign of slowing down. Austria’s Rolf Spectacles and Finland’s KraaKraa were two of the brands that stood out.
Rolf Spectacles has quickly become the benchmark for craftsmanship and innovation with wood. In five years, the company has expanded its workforce from the four founders to over 40. To mark the anniversary, the company produced a book detailing its history. ‘It was only when we put this retrospective together that we actually began to appreciate how far we had come and what we have achieved in that time,’ says co-founder Christian Wolf.
Its latest collection, Evolved, is said to include every element of manufacturing and styling experience the company has acquired over the five years. From refinement of the wooden screwless hinge to the 3D bevelling which shows off each layer of wood, all the know-how has been used in the 17-strong wood collection. One wood and stone combination model is also available.
In contrast, Kraa Kraa eyewear from Finland is a much newer brand name, which will be unfamiliar to most. Founder Matti Hänninen manufactures extremely lightweight one-piece wooden frames using predominantly Finnish birch at the company’s workshop in Tampere. Most frames are available in four sizes.
The Gramma frame sees the company’s lightweight ethos to extreme and the flexible temples are made from just four layers of the veneer. Silhouettes are slightly more avant-garde than the rest of the core collection and feature cork nose pads. Two wood finishes are available, rowan and walnut.
Buffalo horn is another natural material which appeals to luxury eyewear aficionados. The material is traditionally very classic in terms of its aesthetic, but Rigards is a company that is looking to give this small segment of the eyewear market a radical shake-up. Founded by Jean-Marc Virard and Ti Kwa, who formerly worked for Bell & Ross, Rigards’ boldness, in terms of shapes, finishes and colours, is easy to see. Shapes are non-conformist and feature liberal use of bevelling, with juxtapositions of angles and curves. Designers have also constructed their own tooling to create the unique finishes. One such finish is Sanjuro, a homage to a famous samurai, which uses hand notched slashes.
Unveiled at Silmo was the Plastron treatment, an uneven finish which was inspired by the deep ocean and its alien-like textures. Apart from the laborious task of making specialist tools to produce the finish, the company had to go to painstaking lengths to find pieces of horn large enough to shape the deep, shield-like silhouette – inspired by the protective exoskeletons of the deep.
Similarly leftfield in appearance are the collections from Australia’s Niloca Eyewear. Established by Colin Redmond and dispensing optician wife Josie, the brand, by Redmond’s own admission, caters for patients that want something completely different.
Redmond, a former automotive designer, was part of the design team that produced the Audi TT and his passion for design is obvious. He likes to fully appreciate the form of whatever he’s creating and in this instance says he has attempted to get inside the mind of a patient to understand what they really want in terms fit, style and comfort.
Despite their extroverted appearance, the frames have been designed deliberately to shy away from any trends. Redmond wants the frames to be true investment pieces that can be worn over many years. Styles such as the Rive feature heavily contoured acetate, with what is almost a visor over each brow. The structure of the frame takes on a different look from every angle and cutting away so heavily at the acetate has revealed new layers and colours.
The complete opposite of the natural feel and look of horn, leather and wood is 3D printed nylon, which was once again well represented at the event.
Danish brand Monoqool has a long standing reputation for technical innovation, and in the past has wowed visitors with corkscrew hinges and photochromic NXT frames. Its IQ Series of ophthalmic frames was debuted at last year’s Silmo, but the nature of the 3D printing industry means that advances occur all the time. This has allowed the company to refine the manufacturing techniques used throughout the collection.
To highlight the advanced nature of the processes that the company uses, it brought along a consumer level 3D printer. This gave visitors the chance to feel the difference in the quality of finish and dispel any thoughts that consumer-based 3D printed frames will put opticians and eyewear firms out of business anytime soon.
‘When the frames come out of the 3D printer, they are white and very rough. Then a long process including glasblasting, tumbling, hand-polishing and very complex colouring starts. It feels great to be among the pioneers in this field. At Monoqool we aim to become the most innovative eyewear company in the world, and being a first mover in 3D printing is taking us fast towards that vision,’ says Monoqool CEO Allan Petersen.
This season’s new styles are designed very much to fill in gaps in the collection. The IQ Mini range features five smaller shapes, for women in particular and introduces new feminine brighter colours. Some 3D printed frames can have a clinical and architectural feel, which tends to appeal more to men, but the new silhouettes and colours increase feminine appeal. Five new styles have also been added to the main IQ collection, which features new styling cues such as 3D nose bridges, a technical aspect which has been facilitated by the advances in production methods.
