Optical Prism

Gamberini attributes the ongoing
success of Marco lin's metal framed
collections to a combination of
comfort and appearance, noting
that unlike plastic frames, the
versatility of nose pads allows t he
frames to fit varying face shapes,
contours and sizes. And for those
with heavy Rx needs, lightweight
metal offers a thinness that
appeals to wearers.
"Some of the brands actually
are very strong due to metaland
a combination of metal and
acetate," said Gamberini, adding
that the pairing offers a rich and
elegant fin ish, frequently
appearing in the Tom Ford and
Balenciaga collections.
The anticipated GUESS Fall2014
collection will feature five new
metal frame styles. "For the men's
assortment we see the combination of metal fronts with plastic
temples, including the temples of
GU 1835 and GU 1836, which have
stylish fronts with a flat metal
construction and a matte shiny
effect on the temples," Gamberini
explains. "For the women's GUESS
assortment, GU 2469 and GU 2470
have transfer paper animal print
detailing on the front and temples,
which adds something special to
the flat metal construction."
and Headlines 265 are all great
new metal frames that are going to
be perfect for the end of summer
leading into fall."
Paul Storace, President of
Alternative Eyewear Inc/Plan "B"
Eye1Near says his company keeps
their metal frames relevant by
focusing on style and creativity.
He is equally proud of the new
men's styles in the Headlines
Collection and upcoming brand
new collection, Staag Spectacles,
featuring high quality and welldesigned metal eyewear.
"There is so much you can do
with metal frames and we like to
constantly push the boundaries,"
said Storace. "We add epoxies,
embellishments, textures, patterns,
interesting shapes, and so on to
keep metal eyewear interesting
and engaging."
While metal frames are featured
in each of his collections, several
product lines stand out for
Fall 201Ll.
"We're very excited about our
newest Glacee, Headlines and
IceCream models," Storace said.
"Our IceCream 8981, Glacee 6713
Storace believes his customers
appreciate enduring appeal of
the metal frame eyewear option.
"Our metal frames are high quality,
meaning people get the look they
want and they last under regular
wear and tear," Storace said.
At Match Eyewear, Liz Tontodonati
understands the value of offering
consumers brands that embody
comfort, design and quality craftsmanship at a cost that is affordable
to the consumer.
"You will always find metal frames
in our best selling collections such
Opti ca l Pr isrn I Septem ber 2014 17
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OPTIC PLASTIC
DES IGN & MANUFACTURER ES/
979
as Adrienne Vittadini, AV
Studioand Danny Gokey," said
Tontodonati.
She says the uniqueness of these
individual brands allows them to
stay on trend and stay t rue to the
craftsmanship consumers expect.
"Every single brand has its own
nuances, so it is easy for us to keep
things relevant and timeless,"
Tontodonati said. "For instance,
the signature Adrienne Vittadini
chevron pattern can be found on
the temples of new AV Studio So,
and adds a subtle bit of flair to a
classic style.
The Adrienne Vittadini AV 1148
features a floral de-bossed temple
pattern with stone embellishment. We find that when adding
embellishments such as stones,
keeping it to a minimum gives it
longevity."
The Danny Gokey DG3o features
a fiat, full rim with an acetate
inlay on the temple.
Beverly Suliteanu, Vice-President
of Product Development for WestGroupe says metal is a prominent
element of her eyewear design.
Available in lock or unlock
)
t ~'Y'
· ·1·~
·- 1
I,
151 Amber St., Unit #3, Markham, ON L3R 3B3
Tel: (905) 940-0939
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (905) 940-7927
www.opticplastic.com
"It is such a versatile material
and I feel you can include many
more design elements with metal
than vvith plastic including more
textural nuances, colour combinations and design detail," she
explains. "I incorporate metal
models in all of t he WestGroupe
collections including Kliik, Fysh,
Evatik, Superfiex, Bertelli and
Izumi ."
Suliteanu takes her inspiration
from the world offashion, staying
current with evolving trends in
clothes, be it colours, patterns or
textures and transferring them
to eyewear.
"For the fall season, we are using different techniques to add
some texture and depth to our
metal designs," she said.
The Kliik K520 is a sexy, cateye retro inspired model with
a digital animal print overlay
on the front and temple that is
available in both neutral tones
of brown and grey as well as
trendy tones of turquoise and
purple.
Bringing in the small checked
pattems found on the fashion
runways, Fysk F3523 uses 3D
digital printing on the brow bar
and temple to create a three
dimensional pattern effect.
The patterned brow bar is offset by a warm tone front finish
giving this frame a dramatic,
but extremely wearable look.
Using strong colour combinations and intricate design,
the Izumi OS9190 makes a
statement in women's eyewear,
combining the key trend of
a strong brow bar and laser cutouts in one frame. The laser cut
circular cutouts gives lightness
to the framewhile the solid colour brow bar anchors the frame.
Tried and true , metal frames
are a classic option in comfort
and style, but rest assured, these
aren't your professor's old
spectacles. With the elements
of design , colour and embellishments to be had, metal frames
are here to stay, and they've
never looked better.
Chic, Fashionable, Trendsetting. WestGmupe is a leader when
it comes to eyewem-jashion and design. Their pieces have donned
thefaces of countless celebrities and their collections have captured
the eye offashionistas m·ound the globe. Vice president ofpmduct
development Beverly Suliteanu shares the inspirations that keeps
WestGroupe among the top eyewear companies in the world.
By Sarah McGoldrick
What is WestGroupe passionate about?
I would have to say t hat WestGroupe's
passion comes from the long term relationship
that we have forged with our team members
and our customers. For the past 53 years,
we have strived to be a leader in the eyewear
industry by developing, creating and
supporting innovative products and services
that allow our customers to succeed. Our aim
in developing new products, programs and
systems has always been to help our customers become stronger, more competitive and
more efficient.
How does WestGroupe develop a new
piece of eyewear?
The development process is an ongoing,
continuous process. We are constantly
researching the seasonal trends in fashion
and design as well as the evolutionary
20 Opt1cal Prism
I September 2014
trends that are happening in our own
industry. We work closely with our factories
in developing new colours and colour application techniques in order to make our designs
stand out in this ever crowded marketplace.
Once our season concepts are finalized,
the proto typing stage is probably the longest
part of the process as we work on a prototype
until the fit and look is perfect. This may
take four or five prototype revisions. Once
the prototype is finalized we then work on
colours and finishes until the model
is finalized.
and buying groups. As our brand portfolio is
quite deep, we cover most segments in the
marketplace. We have the Superfiex and
Superfiex kids brands for the value segment
and Bertelli, Izumi, Perry Ellis, J ill Stuart,
and Elizabeth Arden fo r the mid market
dispensaries. Kliik, Fysh, Evatik and Stepper
cover the affordable luxury segments that
many optical dispensaries are now focusing
on and SPY targets that young, urban hipster.
The addition of the Hello Kitty and New
Balance kids collection has really rounded
out our product. offering for ch ildren.
How would WestGroupe define their client?
What is new for fall 2014?
Due to the diversity of our brand portfolio, we
can cater to a wide cross-section of clients.
Our client base currently ranges from owner
operated optical stores and optometric
practices to national chains
Fall is always an exciting time in our industry as everyone gears up for the second half
of the year. We are very excited for the 20111
Back-to-School season with the introduction
of Hello KitLy and New Balance Boys.
The initial reaction has been so fantastic
for both collections that we advanced our
Hello Kitty release schedule to include 6
new models that were originally slated to
launch in early 2015 .
How is WestGroupe leading the way
in the industry?
WestGroupe continues to focus on creating
eyewear that resonates with our Canadian
consumers. Although we are selling many
of our brands in the global marketplace,
our focus is and will always be to design for
the Canadian consumer. Although fashion
is a huge part of the DNA of om brands,
our collections are optical brands and
we have the freedom to des ign frames that
incorporate the trends in the optical industry
as well as the fashion industry. This is
a luxury not a lot of brands have.
Optical Prism
I September
2014 21
continued from page 21
DANISI-1 DI:.:SIGN
WHAT IS
YOUR FAVOURITE
PIECE?
Asking me to choose my favourite
piece is like asking a mom to choose
herjavou1·ite child!!
Rather than choosing my favourite
I will highlight a few exciting pieces
from the collection.
Fysh F3526: 1'3526 is an acetate
ladies model with sexy, upswept
cat eye shape. The soft translucent
acetate is contrasted with a marbledtemples and brow har. The attention
to the brow bar is a key trend in
eyewear for fall 201'1·
I~
51 NCE 1987
cos
I:.:XCLUSIVI:.: DISTR IBUTION
DISTR IBUT ION I:.:XCLUSIVI:.:
8360 Mayranc! . Montreal Quebec, Canada
1-l4P 2C9 //Tel. 1 800-363-2341
EvatikE9103 : E9103 is a men's modern combination frame. The Tr-90
front combined with stainless steel
temples makes this frame so light it
doesn't even feel like you are wearing
a frame. The added benefit of nose
pads and a scre wless spring hinge
is s m e to resonate with consumers.
Izumi OS-9190: Izumi 9190 is a full
rim stainless steel frame wi th vibrant
colouring and plenty of details. From
the contrasting colour brow bar to
the laser punched clots that decorate
Lhe temple and front this flattering
rectangular cat-eye is definitely eye
c::ltching.
1. WestGroupe, Izumi OS-9188
2. Concept Eyewear Inc., Women's
Retmvelo127R (NO-BLA)
/1
3. Modern Optical,
Modz Kids Collection
4. Shilling, ! -Green
5· Ma1·colin USA/VIVA,
Roberto Cavalli rco822
13
32 Opt1cal Prism I September 20 14
Optica l Pnsm
I September 2014 33