Bionic Eye

and Classy
3.
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD EYEWEAR
Allison S.p.A. designs Vivienne Westwood
Eyewear in close collaboration with Vivienne
herself, and distributes them globally. Ilker
Starck, president of Allison Canada, says
Westwood is a strong woman who knows
exactly how the eyewear should look and
who takes risks, especially with colour.
“The colours are very bright and feminine,
with a lot of red tones, purple and lilac. The
use of acetate in dual and triple colours is
very significant and she does metal in
various combinations such as silver, copper,
and bronze, with small Austrian crystals laid
in. She’ll bring design motifs from the
apparel and other accessories into the
eyewear, especially in sunglasses.”
For the upcoming season, Vivienne
Westwood’s new prescription eyewear
collection creates acetate forms with an
aerodynamic and unusual design, projecting
stars and capitonné patterns on the metal
sides. The orb logo embellishes the sides of
the entire line.
The ophthalmic eyewear models in
metal are either matt or glossy and the
traditional mother-of-pearl plastic is combined
with inserts in dark hues that include
amaranth, dark green, earth and China blue.
The sunglass collection features large
acetate versions in two colours in addition
to an embellishing rhinestone oval containing
the VW logo, metal versions with a rhinestone
logo on the fork sides and rimless models in
an unmistakably oriental style.
Most Westwood sunglasses are Rx-able,
making them very popular with consumers as
well as retailers, who enjoy the extra profits.
Who is the ideal Vivienne Westwood
Eyewear customer? “Westwood is for the
fashion-educated woman who wants to set
herself apart,” says Starck. “Women who
buy Westwood have a lot of fashion savvy
and navigate more toward European
styling.”
Women in Hong Kong, Japan and Korea
connect well with the Westwood brand, and
sales to women of Asian origin in the
Vancouver area are very strong. “We have a
lot of models with a smaller bridge size and
some are a bit flatter in a style that tends to
be preferred by Asians,” says Starck.
Allison Canada has limited the Vivienne
Westwood collections to boutique retailers
who enjoy a hands-on approach to selling.
As Starck observes, “This isn’t a shelf
product but more for a select clientele who
appreciate connecting with the retailer.” ISI
| DESIGNER STORY |
| The Opticians Association of Canada | VISION | jul_aug | 2008 27
2.
| 1. MOD. VW 630 | 2. MOD. VW 631 | 3. MOD. EC 340 | 4. MOD. VW 104 |