The Shape Of Sunwear

Eyeglass designers talk about the latest shapes and the shape of sunwear to come

BY AMY SPIEZIO

Softer shapes are coming into play this season. Shown: Kaenon style Eden

While all eyewear sets out to improve vision, it's the shape that makes each pair a truly individual prospect. This month, Eyecare Business spoke with designers from around the globe about the shape of sunwear to come.

SHAPES OF THE DAY

Today's sunwear shapes run the gamut, hitting on inspirations from the past and pushing into futuristic looks.

“The major shapes incorporated today in both sunglass shapes and eyewear shapes are retro, rounded, and cat-eye. Classic aviator and wayfarer shapes are also very much incorporated in eyewear today,” says Beverly Suliteanu, director and vice president of Westgroup.

After huge glam shapes' rule of the sun style universe, that trend is turning to rounded looks. Leslie Muller, vice president of design for Marchon, notes, “In sun, we're finally moving away from large rectangle superglam.”

The styles such as softer cat-eyes with less harsh angles are, “fuller, more voluptuous,” notes Jennifer Coppel, manager of product design and development for ClearVision Optical.

The round gets an imperfect twist, says designer Alain Mikli, particularly the “large, oval, Boston style. We have introduced neo-classical, elegant shapes.”

Rounds are going bigger in scale, and more complex in their shaping. “They are doing a lot of hexagons and octagons,” Coppel adds.

But the round is wearable, too, Muller says. “People get scared when you say round, but it's the family. Now we're seeing rounded—not perfect circles, glam round with thin profiles, and P3s that are more oval.”

In short, there is something for everyone. “In shapes right now, anything goes—squares, rounds, oval, or 70s glam,” observes Stacey Sonbert, women's program manager - sun at Oakley.

RETRO ENDURES

One of the most dominant trends that is holding strong and continuing to drive sunglass shapes is looking back for inspiration.

“Lately, I'm inspired by old films, like Fellini's ‘8 1/2' that came out in 1963 or ‘The Thomas Crown Affair' from 1968. There was a handcrafted quality in the glasses back then. They mixed materials and experimented with new shapes that have now become classic,” says Richard Walker, director of product development at Maui Jim.

In fact, the eras influencing the creative process encompass a wider range of styles than ever before.

“Rounded ‘hippie' shapes influence both optical and sunwear designs. The cat-eye shape inspired by the 1950s is increasing in popularity but with a more modern updated look, exaggerated for sunwear. The Victorian era inspires design and texture in our designs with subtle embellishments and details,” Suliteanu says.

Another shift is designs becoming less literal recreations of yesterday's styles. Selecting the best from the past and reconceptualizing it to something timely is trending. “Today's look takes those retro styles and updates them with details and finishing touches that make them modern and not stuffy,” Walker says.

Sunglass shapes continue to develop based on retro influences and decidedly modern materials. Shown from top: Randees Kandees style RK1 from Eastern States Eyewear, Bevel style 7717SD, Alain Mikli style GG1103, Mykita Mylon styles Vega and Olympia

Angles are softened, materials are mixed, and masculine and feminine looks are comfortable and lightweight while flattering. Shown from top, styles for men and women from Wiley X, Lafont style Hallucinante, Kirk Originals style Sunbeam, Yves St. Laurent style YSL6349S from Safilo

Adds Jason Kirk, managing director of Kirk Originals, “‘Retro' is easily applied to a frame, but the art of design is to take elements and make them contemporary. We look at old frames all the time, but they are part of a general library of references and influences and no particular style guides our design decisions.”

For some, retro shapes are part of a manufacturer's design DNA. “We have sold original retro styles since 1923, since the opening of our boutique in Paris by my great grandfather, Louis. Since that time, we have sold and designed some retro styles—P3, rectangular, square, round, and of course cat-eye,” says Lafont's artistic director Thomas Lafont.

OTHER DRIVERS

Besides looking back, current sun shapes are being influenced by a number of other factors, including Rx crossovers and material issues.

■ CROSSOVERS. Increasingly, eyewear consumers are looking for their favorite sunglass looks in ophthalmic eyewear styles and vice versa. Thanks to the recent influx of deeper B measurements in Rx eyewear, that crossover goes both ways.

“Right now there is little difference. Sunglasses are a little larger than opticals, but opticals are already large,” Kirk says.

Even if not initially intended for sun or prescription use, there is more flexibility when it comes to giving patients the shapes they want as long as the lens meets the patient's visual needs.

“If we do a larger Rx frame, we encourage our customers to present it to their customers as dual,” says ClearVision's Coppel.

■ PAIRS. Some designers are making allowances for the particular visual needs of Rx versus sunglasses while preserving shape themes through both types of eyewear.

“For the sunglasses, we think always of the eyesight covering for sun protection, but regarding the shape itself, we try to work always on couples in our style—one optical and one sunglass with a similar shape,” Lafont says.

While the looks may not be identical, shaping echoes consistently through collections. “We have sister frames. Because Rx frames have a flatter, four or five base and the sunwear is an eight base, they might look a little different,” Sonbert says.

■ CHUNKY CHIC. The thicker acetates are also helping to drive the shape of eyewear.

“A sunglass has heavier material, which allows you to do a lot of beveling on the sunglass more easily because you have more material,” Coppel says.

“You have to think about where you're going to leave some space on the front,” she adds. “With cat-eye you have space in the temporal corner.”

■ MATERIALS. Whether chunky or sleek, shape is often determined by the material. “If you fall in love with the material, you have to be conscious of shape, or else they start to fight each other,” Coppel says.

“Not all materials are suitable for all shapes,” adds Suliteanu. “Depending on the material used—whether it is acetate, stainless steel, or TR-90—and the market that is being targeted, the material greatly influences the frame shape.”

What comes first—shape or design—can be a “the chicken or the egg” question for designers.

For some, the first step is the material. “I have an idea after I choose the material. For example, on the David Sassoun collection, it's a multi-layered stainless steel in different colors. Because the idea is to bring this layered look in different colors on the front, I can do it only in metal and not in acetate,” Mikli says.

For others, the design drives the material. “If you have an idea for a frame and you run into a problem, you might be able to solve it with a new material. For example, thinner profiles in acetate might open the door to something,” Muller says.

And there are the designers who simultaneously consider both shape and material in their process. “When I start designing a new style from scratch,” Lafont says, “I always think of the shape and the material at the beginning and the same time. Certain styles, shapes, and details can be done with a certain type of material.”

■ NEW OR NOT. Another hot topic for designers and shapes is the issue of new materials. For some, materials are secondary to shape and design. “You do not need new material to do something new. For me, the best is to do new design with something old like stainless steel,” Mikli says.

Marc Ecko style ME GhostShears from ClearVision Optical

BLOGGING INSPIRATION
When it comes to design, what inspires designers can vary tremendously. Thanks to modern technology, those inspiration factors can be found at blogs of the designers.
	Some samples include: The Aesthetic Omnivore by Focus Group West. Whether traveling the globe or at home in California, the Focus Group West team shares the designs and events that inspire its work. theaestheticomnivore.blogspot.com
	More Than Meets the Eye. REM Eyewear's creative director Nicolas Roseillier is the author and photographer for this blog which shows and tells the stories of the inspirations for his designs and his take on trends in the art world. remeyewearblog.com
	l.a. Eyeworks. An inside look at the events, media, and musings behind the collections are covered with the California-cool of the high-end innovators. laeyeworks-wideworld.com
	Le Blog Lafont. Practice your French and check out some inspirational vitrines and merchandise designs as well as the inspiration studies for each of Lafont's seasonal collections. blog.lafont.com

Others are inspired in new directions with new materials. New approaches to material are allowing shapes that were previously impossible, driving modern shapes forward, says Kirk. “We are using acrylic after years of development to find an acrylic with enough flexibility to mount lenses. The light weight of acrylic compared with acetate, coupled with no necessity for a reinforcing wire, means that the frame can be chunky and appear heavy but still be extremely light and comfortable to wear.”

Lafont notes that at the very least, materials can buttress creativity in sunglass shaping. “A new material won't necessarily allow creation of a new shape, but it can help to create a new combination, type of finishing, and details—like our carbon/acetate or carbon/titanium shapes that are really bringing something new.” EB