Designers' Notebook

global INSPIRATION

By Lindsey Aspinall Getz

Traveling offers any individual the chance to see a new place, try a new food, and experience a new way of life. For designers, this new way of looking at things can serve as inspiration for their creations. Below, some of the top eyewear designers share the travels that sparked their latest ideas.

ROBERT MARC

Last spring, I went to Egypt and was struck by the beautiful colors of the desert. The tonality of the sand looked different at each time of the day as the color of the sky changed from white, red, light blue, black, and everything in between. This is what inspired me to use a variety of sandy tones such as Suede, Blond, Fawn, Topaz, and Cream in the Robert Marc Fall/Winter 2007/2008 Noir Collection.

OSA INTERNATIONAL BLINDE EYEWEAR: Richard Walker As a surfer, tales of amazing surf in various parts of the world often piques your interest. Some friends were raving about a spot in Nicaragua where constant offshore trade winds produce remarkable surf nearly every day of the year. So during the summer of 2006, I packed up my board, headed to JFK, and soon found myself off the beaten path on one of the world's most beautiful beaches. The wave is called Rio Colorado, named for the river feeding into the Pacific. The simplicity and beauty of Nicaragua inspired a series of Blinde metal styles including the Come Clean.

SAMA

Sheila Vance
I have visited many destinations, and each trip has inspired my designs in more ways than one. Recently, I went on hiatus to Japan and discovered the beauty of this ancient yet modern world. After my trip, I was inspired to design a frame that was revolutionary and encompassed the essence of this ancient land. I was inspired by Japanese astrology. I found the chronicles of each animal and the symbolism that it had in Japanese zodiac fascinating. In Japanese zodiac, if you are born in the year of the snake, you are extremely wise, powerful, and enchanting. I was inspired by these stories and designed a series of frames with snakeskin embellishments to reflect the Japanese zodiac sign of the snake. The frames are made of pure titanium and the bridge and temples are cast with the similar process in which jewelry is created. The finished product became Sama's Boa, Python, and Cobra frames, aviator-style sunglasses in varying lens shapes with hand-applied exotic snakeskin on each temple.

PRO DESIGN

Allan Rasmussen
Traveling is a major part of my inspiration. In one of our collections we have a temple inspired from a door handle at the men's room of the airport in Amsterdam. We even have patterns inspired from the plastic cover of a wet tissue at a Thai restaurant in Paris. But I've also had designs come from traveling, without direct inspiration. I am simply more creative when I'm away. While traveling, I always take notes or make drawings of my inspirations for later. For me, traveling is not only transportation from A to B, but also a chance to get inspired 24 hours a day and a chance to do my thing.

OLIVER PEOPLES

Larry Leight The new gradient plastics we designed and introduced into the Resort Spring '08 collection were inspired by a recent business trip to Australia. As I sat at Bondi Beach, talking to friends and having dinner, we watched the golden sunset, which appeared to be fading into the clouds. The fiery, orange glow had such depth and beauty. The clear, deep blue sky and ocean were breathtaking as they met on the horizon line. I envisioned gradient laminate colors from the striking scenery and was inspired to create Garnet, Sapphire, and Topaz Gradient in which each dramatic color fades into a Lucite, crystal color. For years now I have been fascinated with crystal laminates, and the idea to create a gradient fade with these new colors was exciting for me.