Hasta La Ideas

Sulle alpi tirolesi austriache, il brand di occhiali Rolf produce montature in legno. La particolarità del modello Dino 41 in foto, è l’aspetto rustico accentuato da un sottile strato di pietra naturale che riveste l’esterno. Delicatissimo.
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Hardwood frames tap architecturally-inspired design for a better fit

Anyone who struggles to read the third row of an eye chart knows that glasses are more than just a fetching style choice. Those plagued with poor eyesight tend to live in their specs and want a pair that adds something special without sacrificing the wearability of the otherwise utilitarian accessory. Drift Eyewear does both with their collection of handmade frames, constructed from sustainable wood and the brand’s patent-pending laminated steel core.

Founder Chris Mantz (tinkering in his apartment laundry room) modeled the steel structure after architecture’s curtain wall technique, which transfers the weight of the walls back to the building’s core. In Drift designs this translates into better load distribution on the three contact points of the face that allow for use of distressed fragile woods without worry about them snapping. This also helps keep the frames from sliding down noses (and cuts down on the proper nerd move of constantly pushing them back up).

The latest example of this clever design, the Timber collection is a trio of frames in a limited edition of 100 pairs each. The styles—Truss, Nail Hole and Whitewash—are all crafted from salvaged hardwood sourced from different locales. The dark brown wood for Truss comes from designer Daniel Grady Faires, who painstakingly removed the timber from a renovated building in NYC’s Meatpacking District. Nail Hole’s raw aesthetic is inspired by a collaboration with designer Jessica Park of Seattle’s shop-slash-gallery space Coming Soon, while Whitewash’s frames are devised from a vintage picket fence rescued by Chicago-based artist Raun Myn.

In addition to using responsibly-sourced wood for the frames, Mantz tells us “they are about as eco-friendly as you get,” with fronts made from a plastic derived from the wood pulping process and other components using FSC-certified hardwoods along with reclaimed timber.

Drift Eyewear can be found at retailers around the U.S.; specs in the Timber collection sell for $600 a pair.

Split-arm sunglasses with impeccable details for a classic look with a sporty fit

For Activist Eyewear their name is more than just a name. A fundamental principal in their design process, the brand rejects the process of large-scale industrial production, instead priding themselves in creating limited-edition series of sunglasses in small batches. Founder and creative director Mark Craig cut his teeth working on shades for big brands like Michael Kors and Nike, but his passion coalesced as Activist, with a goal of producing glasses that marry high functionality with style.

Crafted in Japan, the glasses are first designed in Brooklyn, where Activist is based. As a nod to their local area code, Activist produces only 718 pairs of sunglasses in each colorway, which also guarantees you get a pretty unique set of frames. Currently there are three models available, but every pair features their signature Split Fit arm, which evens out the pressure usually situated at the temple. This not only ups the comfort level, but also gives them a more secure fit. Starting with the basics, Activist’s styles are based on the classics: Wayfarer, Aviator and Lennons.

In addition to their progressive fit, Activist kits out their specs with top quality lenses featuring an “ultra-high performance” Oleophobic Seal that’s impervious to water and grime. Combined with the split arms and hingeless frames, the shades are the perfect pair to don during a game of beach volleyball or a run around the park. A customized nosepad for each model, waxed canvas cases and cleaning cloths that double as pocket squares round out the keen attention to detail.

Activist sunglasses sell online and at stockists around the world for $450 a pair.

TenOverSix taps L.A. Eyeworks for a pair of sunglasses fit for a Fellini star

Recalling the smooth swagger of Marcello Mastroianni and everything “La Dolce Vita,” L.A. retailers TenOverSix recently joined forces with L.A. Eyeworks on a pair of shades that celebrate classic Italian design with modern flair. TenOverSix creative director Kristen Lee explained that she and TenOverSix art and design director Brady Cunningham became “obsessed with the shape” after using a pair of vintage Italian frames belonging to Cunningham’s father. (Originals pictured on model at right).

The duo took their template to L.A. Eyeworks, who masterfully reinterpreted the design with lenses dark enough to brave the glow of sunny California, juxtaposed with pastel pink and yellow frames perfect for welcoming the season’s warm weather.

Dubbed The Vic, the sunglasses also come in dark tortoise shell. You can pick up a pair online or at TenOverSix and L.A. Eyeworks for $230 beginning today, 18 April 2011.

Artist Agathe Snow teams up with Mykita on a pair of “monumental” sunglasses for her Guggenheim Berlin show

Aliens might’ve constructed Egyptian pyramids, but the bigger question according to artist Agathe Snow is our relationship to such towering structures. She takes up the question in her current show, an homage to monuments at the Guggenheim Berlin dubbed “All Access World.” The Corsica-born, NYC-based Snow has already made a name for herself with artfully messy sculptural works and a penchant for interactive art, with this show exploring “a more democratic approach to monument ownership and distribution.” Filled with an array of mobile sculptures, large-scale wall collages, video works and more, the exhibit examines the identifying the factors that bind people to places.

Accompanying the monumental mixed-media works, a pair of sunglasses designed by Snow and Berlin-based framemaker Mykita plays off the theme with subtle references to iconic landmarks. The neon pink- and black-hued shades feature a handpainted silhouette of either Manhattan’s skyline or the Pyramids of Giza, applied so finely to the inner side of the lenses in gold that the wearer barely notices.

The sunglasses, limited to an edition of 200, play off Snow’s idea that visually omnipresent monuments should be “available as products” sold through her fictional company All Access World. Snow explains in an interview with Deutsche Guggenheim magazine, “Monuments are a contradiction. Things that depend on the act of remembering cannot be static. How can you be of a moment in history yet speak of timelessness?” Nailing the point home, the Mykita model that Snow chose for the project (called Cyrus) riffs off the classic Clubmaster style that everyone from JFK to surfers has sported.

Assembled entirely by hand at the Mykita workshop, each pair is individually numbered on the temple and comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Snow. They sell from Museum Shop of the Deutsche Guggenheim (and within the next few weeks at Mykita stores and other dealers) for €370 each.