lines and launches

preppy Powerhouse

Amy Spiezio · Photography by Peter Baker

KENMARK PRESENTS LILLY PULITZER COLLECTION

Kenmark Group has launched a multi-generational collection for women, teens, and children who love the Lilly Pulitzer lifestyle brand or the Palm Beach-inspired style. Ophthalmic eyewear and sunwear was inspired by the colorful prints and whimsical charm of the classically fun brand, each frame features sophisticated shapes and unique embellishments. The launch includes 14 ophthalmic and four sun styles for women and six ophthalmic frames for girls/teens. The collection is targeted to women ages 17 to 54 and girls/teens ages six to 16. The line offers an assortment of zyls, metals, and combinations in a rainbow of colors signature to the Lilly Pulitzer brand. "Lilly Pulitzer Eyewear and Sunwear offers beautiful product with distinctive designs and unique embellishments inspired by the Palm Beach lifestyle of Lilly Pulitzer," says Amy Moore, product director at the Kenmark Group. For more information, call 800-627-2898.

A Brand New SPIN OGI WINDS UP SPINNERS COLLECTION OGI has combined its design-savvy children's frames with an element of creative engineering. The result, the OGI Spinners, is a brand new line of eye-catching frames that engage kids and allow the experience of wearing eyewear to be a positive one. The OGI Spinners are the only frames that feature a revolutionary temple with the ability to rotate 360 degrees. Made possible by an exclusive hinge, the temple smoothly revolves around the front of the frame and then locks back into place. Instead of the embarrassment some children feel when wearing eyewear, they will now become the envy of the class, company representatives say. The Spinners unique spring hinge increases durability by nearly eliminating all of the stress placed on the hinge of the frame and assuring a long frame life. OGI Spinners are a fun, fashionable collection designed to look great and last a long time. The frames come in colors including electric blue, lime green, black, teal, purple, brown, gun-metal, brick red, pumpkin, dark olive, kiwi, and goldenrod. For more information, call 888-560-1060 or visit www.ogiframes.com.

City Style

MYKITA UNVEILS METROPOLITAN COLLECTION

A new line designed with the hip city dweller in mind, Mykita's new Metropolitan collection is corrective eyewear making a fashion statement, with cues taken from eyeglass wearers in the public eye as well as the trend to use sunglass frames for prescriptive eyewear. The celebrity inspiration for the eyewear is wide-ranging: Terry, an aviator style, is inspired by the "enfant terrible" photographer Terry Richardson. Sophia is named after the actress Sophia Loren. "SOPHIA is a quiet, wild mixture of styles.…a modern concept frame with ’60s to ’70s futuristic bio-edge design topped with a surface pattern which reminds you of a ’30s expensive lighter," notes designer Harald Gottschling. Other figures inspiring styles are Woody (Allen), the Dalai Lama-inspired frame style called Tenzin (his actual first name), and Buddy (Holly). Many of the Metropolitan styles are offered in silver, gold, or black as well as a silver or gold etched plaid-patterned metal surface, adding an extra textured dimension which glistens in the sunlight. A photochromic option in the sunwear, which switches from a light to dark tint within seconds, is also available in some models. For more information, visit the website www.mykita.com.

CUSTOM Built

ALAIN MIKLI STUDIOS LAUNCHES VANESSA & MEHDI Alain Mikli's design team members since 2003, Vanessa di Giovani and Mehdi Gaurat, have created their first eyeglass independent collection as part of Alain Mikli's studiomikli. The Vanessa & Mehdi collection is based on a technical problem: blending a frame with the face while overcoming the defects of the asymmetry of a face. The pair set out to solve the issue by designing eyewear featuring a technology that enables a "custom-made" tilt. The technical solution was "EXO ‘IN," a mechanism designed in mould injected metal (MIM) that ensures a micrometric adjustment enabling to adjust both the height of temples and the tilt of the front. The technology offers a 10° adjustment range, an adjustment to all head shapes, and ensures an accurate tilt for all wearers. The optician performs a customized fit for every frame, within a half-degree margin. The adjustment optimizes both the comfort of the frame and the vision quality. For more information, visit www.mikli.com.

Q&A: JASON KIRK

Designer Jason Kirk, owner of Kirk Originals, has made a career out of tapping into a creative process using the latest technology, from frame finishes to social network marketing. Kirk spoke exclusively with Framebuyer about his experiences in the optical industry.

FRAMEBUYER: You're English but you now live in France; how has the move influenced the way you design/your aesthetic choices?

JASON KIRK: When we (Kirk and his wife, Karen) first started to sell internationally, our clients recognized an English streak in our design. We were not conscious of it but were naturally influenced by our environment. Karen went to design college in the U.K., so that, too, was a great influence on her work.

We now live in France, so when we go to London it is as tourists and we are perhaps more aware of the London scene than we were when we lived there. Living in France offers a different cultural perspective and much more interaction with clients in a market that is very important to us. While we do not feel particularly influenced by the French design around us, the distance from design centers such as London and Paris has allowed us more independence and freedom of spirit in our work.

FB: What's inspiring you in the design world today?

JK: There is so much going on. The Internet has made so many things accessible, and everything is possible. Japanese multimedia art is fascinating, low tech design, Shaker simplicity—all this inspires us in a world that is so fast-moving and eager to go one step further that we often overlook simple beauty.

FB: After 15 years, what's been the biggest change for you in terms of the optical industry?

JK: The U.K. remains very slow at a retail level with around a dozen true design-led opticians, but France has seen a massive growth and the U.S.A. is improving fast. There are some emerging markets making their presence felt, but I would prefer to sign the contracts before I tell you where they are!

Many opticians have realized that they do not need to play it safe by carrying some genuine designers and some branded [product] just in case. In Europe there is a tendency now to offer a clear and confident message to customers by carrying four or five brands but doing them in depth.

The retail market is undergoing enormous change at the independent level, too, with Luxottica making their presence felt. It is important for the designers and the retailers who wish to exist alongside the giants of the industry, that they differentiate themselves through their environment and their product. Visible investment in optical retail can only be a good thing.