McQueen styles 42-0011 (top) and 42-0010 (bottom)

Unleash the Original

Murai debuts the stylings of Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen has a style all his own-a marriage of sleek novelty and classic originality. He's done it with his clothing, ever since running the haute couture house of Givenchy. McQueen has dressed some of the most original personalities in Rock and Roll-including David Bowie, Courtney Love, and Noel Gallagher. Like many of the icons who wear his designs, he has created a "bad boy" persona, and creates a "buzz" whenever he stages a show or dresses a star. And now he's doing it with eyewear through Murai America Inc.

McQueen's eyewear collection, called McQueen Eyes, embodies the design philosophy seen in his clothing. The styles embrace sleek lines, but it's truly the lenses that set the collection off from others. The lenses have the shapes that are distinctive McQueen, some extending far past the eye frame, and other suspended from the top eyewire-but each of them giving the frames their own character.

The frames' coloring includes such hues as camouflage and khaki. There are three choices of lenses for each model-clear, cosmetic tint, or sunglass tint-each in a variety of colors. There are both plastic and metal frames in the 20-style collection; the metal frames are all titanium. The collection was launched at Mido this month, and is now available in the United States and Europe.

The collection wholesales for $80-$110. Merchandising materials include a P-O-P display, countercard, and name plaque. For information, call Murai at 800-261-2268.

Tehama styles 301 (top) and 302 (bottom)

Go Ahead, Make Your Day

McGee launches eyewear line with Dirty Harry

Who would have thought that Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood-famous for his role as Dirty Harry and the line "Go ahead, make my day"-would one day enter the world of fashion. What began as a dream of developing his own 18-hole golf sanctuary called Tehama, which means "abundance in nature," has mushroomed into a full-fledged sportswear company inspired by this former mayor of Carmel, Calif.

Most recently, Eastwood, after signing a licensing agreement with The McGee Group, launched the Tehama Clint Eyewear line. The initial launch includes ophthalmic styles broken down into two collections- Naturals and Limited Edition. The Naturals collection includes six small, unisex frames made of titanium with acetate temple covers all in earth tones. This line wholesales for $59.95. The Limited Edition collection includes three monel styles with acetate temples. The shapes are large and specifically geared toward men. The Limited Edition frames wholesale for $64.95. A collection of five sunwear styles will be introduced in June, which will feature Golf Action Clint lenses intended to eliminate blue tones from the golfer's viewing spectrum, allowing him to better read the greens.

Point-of-purchase materials include an eight-piece wood display and an eight-piece box display. Call The McGee Group at 800-966-2020.

UNIONBAY styles Rave and Calypso

Down by the Bay

Creative Optics launches UNIONBAY eyewear

Hoping to capitalize on the teen market, Creative Optics recently signed a worldwide licensing agreement with UNIONBAY to launch a line of eyewear. The line debuts with more than 16 ophthalmic styles for young men and women.

Within the collection there are 10 metals, made from stainless steel and Italian metal with spring hinges. Colors are matte brown, grey, steel blue, and blush. Shapes range from modified ovals to butterfly shapes. Six handmade zyls complete the collection, featuring double-laminate styles. Color combinations include burgundy/navy and black/taupe. Wholesales range from $29.95 to $49.95.

Each style features the UNIONBAY or UB logo for instant brand recognition and each frame comes with a brushed steel flip-top case. Point-of-purchase materials include a six- and one-piece display and logo plaque. For more information, call Creative Optics at 800-537-9265.

Nikko styles OC-2103 (top) and OC-2102

Light and Strong, Please

Avalon Eyewear goes titanium with Nikko

What's light and popular and strong all over? Titanium, of course. And now Avalon Eyewear's got it.

Avalon, a member of Nassau Vision Group, is introducing Nikko, a frame collection made from 100 percent titanium-the popular metal perfectly suited for quality eyewear. Lightweight yet durable, the four unisex styles are targeted toward men and women between 30 and 60 years old. The shapes range from ovals to geometric, in shades of gold, gunmetal, brown, and tortoise. Avalon plans to release additional styles throughout 2000.

Avalon's motive behind the collection, according to Product Manager Joe Vargo, is adherence to the strict quality guidelines of titanium eyewear. "Compliance with industry standards was a priority in the development of the Nikko collection," he says. "To satisfy those demands, only 100 percent pure titanium was used, to ensure quality, hypoallergenic frames that have lightweight durability."

Each frame comes with a specially designed metal case, and is priced to the dispenser at $54.95. Merchandising materials include a three-piece display and countercards. Call Avalon at 888-767-0383.

TOKI styles Van Alen (top) and Papillon

Time for Flight

MGI debuts with TOKI Eyewear

In 1905, Mr. Satoru Masunaga's grandfather opened the first optical factory in Fukui, Japan. Since then, the Japanese royal family has recognized Masunaga Optical as founders of the optical industry in Japan. Looking to expand this tradition to the U.S. market, industry veteran Stephan Ellingson teamed up with Mr. Masunaga to form MGI (Masunaga Group, Inc.). The firm's hope to offer eyewear with the best of Japanese technical superiority with an American aesthetic sensibility was realized with the launch of the TOKI Eyewear line. 
The line consists of 32 styles, including titanium looks and plastic styles offering hand-milled Japanese and Italian acetate. The titanium styles are hypo-allergenic, non-corrosive, nickel-free, durable, and extremely lightweight. Colors range from espresso and maple to platinum and aubergine. Some characteristics of the acetate frames include three-dimensional effects as well as iridescent finishes and pinstripes. Acetate colors include amber, black coffee, mother of plum, and smoke topaz. Special features include rimlock screws made from titanium, monoblock endpieces, and critical points that are welded, not soldered, to ensure stability.

Wholesale prices range from $140 to $152. Point-of-purchase materials include logo plaques, countercards, logo flags, and banners. For more information, call MGI at 877-327-TOKI. EB