Design & Inspiration

This feature is the second part of a two-part series in which we ask Kayla Heersink of @opticali_style to share her experiences at Vision Expo East and LOFT NYC with particular emphasis on the North American brands she explored. Heersink is an optician and eyewear expert. To read part 1 of the feature click on this link : https://www.eyestylist.com/2024/04/view-from-an-expert-kayla-heersink-shares-favourite-moments-in-nyc/

4. Did you come across anything surprising / mind-blowing or just simply beautiful during your days in NYC in March? I did have my mind blown, and that doesn’t happen too often. I was very lucky to get a preview of the inaugural collection of PRESS eyewear. At the heart of PRESS’ philosophy lies a belief in presenting eyewear in its purest form, allowing beautiful materials to shine while ensuring construction is both unique and remarkably comfortable. Each meticulously crafted piece is fashioned from the finest eco-conscious materials available, reflecting the brand’s commitment to sustainability. The collection is entirely handmade in Japan. Above: Kayla wearing sunglasses by PRESS Eyewear 

The debut collection features 22 styles across four distinct storylines. For me, the stand-out collection is “The Streamline Collection,” which are jaw-droppingly beautiful titanium pieces that draw inspiration from the elegance of 1950s era automotive design. Streamline is a celebration of exceptional metal craftsmanship. I didn’t want to take these off. They are SO beautiful.

I also loved “The Legends Collection,” handcrafted bio-acetates, that have the big and bold aesthetic without the weight. This collection reimagines favorite artists in a contemporary style. PRESS meticulously considered bridge fit and sizing to cater to clients around the world, ensuring a perfectly comfortable fit for every wearer. Just wow! Above: Press Eyewear – models Bel Air and Barracuda

5. Did you visit any one more than once because you fell in love with their eyewear? I was too busy to visit anyone more than once!

6. Did you learn something new about eyewear craftsmanship or design at any of the North American brands you visited? Rapp Eyewear, out of Toronto, Canada can be completely customized. Individual color and temple length selection, allow shops to get as close to bespoke as possible. Rapp’s signature satin finish acetates and brushed titanium temples can be tailored to fit an individual need. They are expert at using cuts, to reveal. They specialize in difficult fits, and see no reason why a -10 D can’t be fashionable. It only takes two weeks to switch a frame color from one style to another. Frame design is a very collaborative process, with staff and family all weighing in.

Each Rapp frame is named and shaped after their customers and friends. When a frame is named after someone, it will also perfectly fit and flatter that person. It’s not just a nominal tribute, but also a celebration of the unique individual. I saw 3 frames created for the same woman, each representing a different facet of her personality. Beauty and color are very important, “they give the feeling of drinking, but without the bad effect – softning things.” Rapp has created my very favorite sunglass lenses, with a proprietary glitter finish. They bring already beautiful frames to next level.

7. Did you spot any sustainable ideas amongst the North American eyewear collections you went to see and is this of importance yet in your opinion there? Reducing waste and sustainability is increasingly becoming something manufacturers are trying to address, and that consumers care about.
Fellow Earthlings founders Chris and Sydney Seggie sought to create a different kind of eyewear company in their small town on Prince Edward Island, Canada. They specialize in custom handmade eyewear, short-run production, design and prototyping.  Fellow Earthlings has devoted their focus to sustainability, which has led them to develop an exclusive in-house acetate recycling program – reprocessing would-be waste material in a traditional manufacturing environment, into 1/1 frames.

No two Fellow Earthlings styles are the same. They produce new sheets of beautifully marbled acetate colors from the off-cuts of other frames. The colors range from tropical neons to opalescent pastels and everything in between. A field trip to their factory is at the top of my to-do list. I can’t wait to make my own creation.

8. For something really special: what was the coolest bar or cafe you visited or found by chance that that you’ll be going back to.
I highly recommend the clam pizza + scallop crudo at Pasquale Jones in Soho!

Follow @eyestylistmagazine + @opticali_style on Instagram for more information about the companies that Kayla visited.

At the eyewear fairs this season, the green colour story has continued to play an important role for men and women. Popular tones include emerald, electric, olive and nature-inspired verdant green varieties such as moss…many of the favourites that have appeared on the catwalks

Across the sun and optical lines this season, green tones have grown considerably with a wide selection of brights, naturals and deeper more intense tones incorporated into the Spring/Summer collections. Lime, acid green and lighter greens are having a particularly interesting evolution in frame design, as colour confidence rises in apparel in general and eyewear sees a growing success with mood-boosting hues, block colour and bright unexpected colour combinations. Above: a classic approach – Casablanca by L.G.R, pictured in emerald green, one of the most popular shades of green that we spotted at Mido 2024 in February (www.lgrworld.com)

Bio acetate model Narai by Gigi Studios is a lightweight classic shape from the Barcelona brand that comes in crystal green with brown anti-reflective UV protective lenses. This green variety with a translucent effect is particularly popular in eyewear because it is among the most versatile and flattering for most skin tones. www.gigistudios.com

The green palette features plenty of acid tones for Spring/Summer 2024.  These vibrant hues command attention in sunwear and eyewear, potentially providing an uplifting “energising” experience for the wearer who wants to express their mood or personality. www.vavaeyewear.com

French eyewear brand WOOW released a collection for the season inspired by the dance floor, with “jazzy silhouettes, hip shapes and shock colours”. The Super Dancer Sunglasses are designed as masculine sunglasses which aim to reinvent the language of serious eyewear with playfulness – through colour. https://wooweyewear.com

Model Eat Street by OGI Eyewear is an acetate design which combines a distinctive angular round shape with warm marbled colours including this fresh green patterned effect for the front paired with light green temples. www.ogi-eyewear.com

With its architectural form and green and grey combo, Struktur’s The Legend offers an original look for men or women, where form and colour go hand in hand in creating character and individuality in this statement piece. The way in which two colours are combined creates an interesting depth to the design: www.struktur-eyewear.fr

Graduated colour is also popular again this season. The women’s Magdalen style is characterised by a geometric shape softened by a curved nosepiece; the palette of gradient colour, including the green above, lends the frame an elegant, sophisticated air. www.blackfin.eu

Combinations of green with other colours – or with other shades of green are also being explored widely. Model Upside in the HAVN collection at Ørgreen Optics is an example of a two-toned green colour combination, featuring a matt effect electric green with a matt effect darker military green, a fresh and unexpected interplay of tones that delivers a sophisticated twist on the current wave of green-themed frames. www.orgreenoptics.com

Kayla Heersink, the optician and eyewear aficionado behind the @optical_style account on Instagram – a curated page featuring all things creative in eyewear, visited New York City in March for Vision Expo East and LOFT NYC. During the weekend, she shared with us some personal insights and favourite discoveries among the brands from North America exhibiting at the events. Eyestylist.com presents a spectacular two-part editorial in collaboration with Kayla, with some exciting insights on what she found during her appointments in the city.  Above: Kayla wears PRESS Eyewear’s Super Bass sunglasses.

1. What was your favourite event/studio visit or showroom viewing this year in NYC?
The CFDA Pride Eyewear Initiative event is really special. In honor of Pride Month, seven CFDA eyewear brands  united to launch the 3rd annual edCFDA Pride Eyewear Initiative. The designers of Blake Kuwahara Eyewear, Christian Roth Eyewear, l.a.Eyeworks, PRESS, Barton Perreira, Selima Optique, and KREWE, will each offer a limited edition sunglass design, with a portion of proceeds collectively benefiting Bring Change to Mind.

Established in 2022, the edCFDA Pride Eyewear Initiative is an annual charitable venture driven by eyewear designers of the CFDA to target and highlight specific needs within the broad spectrum of the LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming community. With donations to LGBTQ+ causes totaling more than $100,000 in its first two years, an expansion from five to seven designers this season bodes well for a record-breaking year in 2024. “While it is the eyewear designers, with the CFDA’s support, who have piloted this outstanding effort, it is also a testament to the optical community – retailers and customers alike – who have embraced the importance of visibility for these causes,” notes Gai Gherardi, co-founder/designer of l.a.Eyeworks.

Proceeds from sales of the 2024 edCFDA Pride Eyewear Initiative will benefit Bring Change to Mind (BC2M) www.bringchange2mind.org, an organization dedicated to ending stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health.

2. At the shows, which were the iconic US brands you loved again for 2024 – and why?
I’m still obsessed with Vada. Designer and creative director Katie Caplener’s work draws from a deep well of ranging references, from ancient art to modern dance, neoclassicism to New Wave, and the obscurest of corners that exist in between. The VADA eyewear line that emerged from Katie’s fine jewelry background strives to create quality pieces, lasting outside of trends. VADA creates heirloom pieces to be cherished across generations.
In my opinion, this small batch eyewear brand has the best photos and storytelling. This year it’s all about Camp Vada, where you can see the influence of Katie’s southern roots. Inspired by action and adventure, Camp VADA builds its fire with an exploration of masculine energies for Collection 5. It’s little yin, big YANG, with three new styles and eight new high-octane colorways. Pitch a tent. Run a trotline. Get high on an Ozark mountain. Cannonball off the boat dock: Camp VADA is calling. A fitted ringer tee and a cigarette behind the bunkhouse. A psychotic sack race toward summertime. An acid-blotted biscuit in the duck blind. Color names like swamp, trout, and pearl snap, are complimented by “I pulled a fish from my ice hole” bumper stickers, and old school Vada trucker hat merch. Vada is somehow always simultaneously fresh and nostalgic at the same time. Like your cool older cousin, Vada knows what’s hot before you do.

Vada has also recently released two special collaboration pieces with singer Leon Bridges. Channeling Bobby Womack, funkadelic hues, and best-dressed relative nostalgia, EARTHA and LEON are handmade in Japan with 8mm custom acetate and feature 18K gold-plated hardware. These frames feature a custom paisley-patterned core wire exclusive to this collaboration that is extraordinary. It was inspired by a scarf worn by Leon’s grandmother, Eartha.

3. Which are the most interesting emerging home-grown labels you are going to keep your eye on?
I’m really excited about the relaunch of American Optical. It is America’s oldest eyewear company, started in 1833. AO frames are being made in the same factory as State Optical, in Chicago Illinois. American Optical is bringing back the Saratoga, made famous by JFK, in addition to many of their other recognizable classics.

The optical nerd in me got really amped seeing frames with 7 barrel hinges. The goal has been not only to bring eyewear manufacturing back to the US, but also to revive the lost vocation of the American Eyewear Artisan. YESSS!! The AO and STATE craftspeople undergo over six months of training before earning that title, working across all 75 steps of the proprietary AO and STATE manufacturing process. The pride that these 65 elite craftspeople exude can be felt in every frame.

Look out for Part 2 of this feature, which is packed with great recommendations – from @opticali_style – coming up soon! Follow @eyestylistmagazine + @opticali_style on Instagram for more information about the companies that Kayla visited.

The French optician turned eyewear designer Alexandre Caton has created an eyewear collection that continues to stand out from the crowd

An extraordinary depth of research and inspired product development, an understanding of the finest eyewear – old and new, and a fascination with the spectacle-making traditions of Japan….Alexandre Caton has applied his knowledge and passion for eyewear design, and his experience as an optician, producing each frame and sunglass design in the Lazare Studio collection as an expression of past classics refreshed “with a contemporary touch”; after just four years, this collection is available in some of the world’s finest fashion stores such as Dover Street Market, and eyewear stores of the highest repute. Above: detail of Nada by Lazare Studio, one of the latest sunglass styles to be added into the collection

As the designer explains, each frame is the result of two worlds coming together: on the one hand, the Japanese element and the signature parts made out of materials which have been sourced from leading Japanese manufacturers, and on the other, the savoir-faire of the French artisans of the Jura, where craftsmen and women are trained in long-established skills and new cutting-edge technology. Added to this is a careful “physiological design approach” devised by Caton with focus on balanced lines and delicate weight distribution of the product, always adapted for the ideal comfort of the frame.

Inspired by the classic shapes of the 1970s, the new model Rothstein illustrates the use of 6mm milled Japanese acetate for the frame front, and details typical of the collection: the signature rivets, metal cores and refined hinge design.

Lazare Studio has committed to an environmental and socially responsible approach to production by choosing high-end suppliers working with care and conscience and selecting long-lasting and sustainable materials. The brand’s ultimate goal is to provide “timeless eyewear, built to last”. Find our more about the frames at www.lazare.studio