One big side show

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.

Exalt Cycle from Eyewear Europe

Animal sunglasses from Norville

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.