Hasta La Ideas

Classic vintage shades get a refreshing modern twist

Vintage-inspired eyewear isn’t a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but Gentlemonster reworks the classics with an emphasis on innovation. Buddy Holly specs and brow line glasses take on a modern edge with sleek angles whereas changeable faceplates give Wayfarers a much-needed update. Frames from the ’50s to ’70s serve as points of reference, but strictly in a design sense.

“We actually don’t get inspired by particular periods of fashion,” founder Hankook Kim tells CH. “In fact, we love Steve Jobs and his craft. We get so much inspiration from his obsession with perfection and beauty.”

Based in Seoul, South Korea, Gentlemonster got its start like many other independent eyewear makers: Kim is an avid collector of vintage glasses. “I started to make eyewear because I know about glasses better than other accessories,” he says. Previously, Kim worked for an English education company, launching the label in February 2011.

Gentlemonster is proud of its craft and documented the process from start and finish. Instead of injection molding, frames are carved from a sheet of acetate and finished by hand. With two designers collaborating with Kim, design and development are just as intensive. “We make at least more than ten blueprints of one model,” he says. “And then we choose three good ones and make samples, of which we choose one.”

While Kim tells us Gentlemonster is not influenced by Korean culture or style, the label reflects the nation’s growing appetite for fashion. “Trend changes are very fast in Korea, so there’s no winner and no forever,” says Kim. “And people get so tired of designs. That’s why we make lots of designs every month.”

But Gentlemonster is not all work and no play. Letting creativity run loose, “Project B” brings unrestrained ideas and one-off concepts to life, such as frames with real flowers, grass and soil and glasses inspired by the mask of Zorro. “The reason we do this is to express our imagination freely,” he says.

Gentlemonster eyewear is available for purchase on their website and 29CM.

La nuova linea di borse in pelle Vive Nivette vive di ispirazioni esotiche abbinate ad un design pulito e rigorosamente handcrafted. La Summer Collection 2012 è composta da due modelli: Clutch e Ninette proposte in varie versioni di colori. Le trovate tutte qui.

Questa è la versione gold della Nike Free Powerlines+. Data di rilascio ancora ignota.

Porta passaporto/carte/iPhone in vacchetta fiorentina per Travelteq. Handmade in Italy.

African-inspired prints, retro style and geometric designs in SS13 men’s lines

Our present summer is more than halfway over, but NYC’s recent Capsule show had us skipping all the way to next year with the 2013 menswear offerings. In keeping with the season’s pattern-dominated styles is swimwear, whose strongest pieces feature bright, bold prints of all kinds. Here, a selection of standouts.

ÒKUN

As the most original collection that caught our eye, the African-inspired swimwear by ÒKUN is ripe with saturated hues and lively patterns drawn from traditional Congolese Kuba and Ghanaian Adinkra motifs, as well as more contemporary Nigerian prints. The ’60s and ’70s retro-feel shorts are constructed of quick-drying Italian polyamide, and are available in two distinct styles. The Ali is a boxer-style trunk hanging a skimpy 13″ from the waist, while the Patrice is a longer 16″ short with a bit less attitude. Either way you lean, keep an eye out for ÒKUN. At just under a year old, the exuberant brand seems to be gaining ground fast.

Franks

Swimwear brand Franks hails from Australia. Good vibes, fun colorways and playful patterns make up this spirited line of trunks. Falling at 16.1″ in length with a 6.5″ inseam, they hit just above the knee for a casual but refined fit that won’t have you looking like a teenaged tourist. The wide variety of geometric inspired designs keeps things fresh without jumping into the obvious. Look to Franks online for their current collection.

Mitchumm

Americana through foreign eyes, the once defunct Southern California-based brand Mitchumm has recently been revitalized in Italy with superior Italian fabrics and expert manufacturing. Featuring everything from national flags, nautical themes and classic oxfords to unexpected cartoon-covered prints and even camo, each short design is finely printed on lightweight, quick-drying fabric. The incredible detail to which each material is mimicked in print—the weave of oxford, ripple of seersucker—is really quite impressive, with a trompe-l’œil effect you’ll only catch upon close inspection. See Mitchumm directly for for more informaiton.

For a closer look at a selection of shorts from the three previously mentioned SS13 collections see the slideshow.