LAUNCHES

Liberty Sport Adds Performance Sunglasses for Women


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Quick Take: Liberty Sport has added a new performance sun collection designed for the active woman. The new series of Rx-able performance suns are fashionable and offer the performance and safety features available on all Liberty Sport Performance Suns.
Wearer: Active women.
Specifics: “It’s been a long process coming up with just the right designs for active women,” said Linda Laube, vice president of marketing. “We had launched smaller sizing on some top selling sunglasses last year and experienced immediate success. However they were unisex styles and did not really offer the feminine shapes women like, so we introduced four new styles designed just for women.”
Selling Points: The front shapes and coloring of the new styles are feminine but still incorporate Liberty Sport’s key performance features like high grade nylon construction, 6- and 8-base premium sport performance sun lenses that meet ANSI Z80.3 standards and temples that fit under most helmets, etc. The company also introduced a more feminine “LS” logo and a new semi rigid eyeglass case with matching cleaning cloth, while a 6-piece display is available any retailer who purchases the collection.
Price Guide: $$$
www.libertysport.com

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FriezeFrames Launches Vintage-Inspired Six Collection


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Quick Take: FriezeFrames has launched their newest eyewear collection, the Six Collection. This cat-eyed and geek-chic collection sheds a creative new light on popular styles from the past. Wearer: Vintage styling aficionados.
Specifics: Six styles available in three to five color options. Most are available as ophthalmic or with polarized UV lenses.
Selling Points: FriezeFrames focuses on reinventing vintage styling into frames with a more contemporary and wearable look and feel. “The Six Collection represents what FriezeFrames is all about, bold cutting edge styles” said Marc Franchi, the company’s director of operations. Made with only the highest quality materials each pair of frames is hand crafted, hand polished and many of the pieces are embellished with hand set Swarovski crystals.” The frames are shipped in a hard-case with cleaning cloth. FriezeFrames eyewear is currently available in independent eyewear retailers and specialty boutiques in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe.
Price Guide: $$$
www.friezeframes.com

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SECOND LOOKS

Modo Presents 7 for All Mankind SS12 Collection


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Quick Take: Modo and 7 For All Mankind have introduced new styles for the season. In-line with the effortless, relaxed sophistication of 7 For All Mankind, the eyewear collection combines style drive with wear-ability.
Specifics: Six new optical styles and seven new sun styles for the upcoming season.
Selling Points: Originating from a sophisticated, yet subtle and understated direction, the new styles are inspired by desert landscapes and ocean colors. The collection features triple gradient handmade acetates in tones reminiscent of desert sunsets with clear crystal and matte finishes in muted ocean shades, as well as stainless steel with brushed antique finishes. The optical collection reflects retro-inspired shapes with modern silhouettes. The new models for women include style 730, a modern deep square frame; style 731 a soft metal shape and style 734, a flattering cat eye. For men style 733 is a more fashion forward soft rectangle with a keyhole bridge and style 735 is a timeless classic rectangle. The sun collection features oversized but thin acetates such as the Magnolia and Alameda frames and fashion forward punch-out metals and metal/acetate combinations like the Winnetka and Monterey. Men's shapes are timeless navigator shapes like the Fernando or as an alternative unique metal/acetate construction like the Huntington.
Price Guide: $$$
www.modo.com

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Base Curve Unveils John Varvatos Eyewear Spring 2012 Collection


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Quick Take: Base Curve has released the new Spring 2012 John Varvatos Eyewear optical and sun collections.
Specifics: Six new sunglass models with 100% UV protection and five optical options.
Selling Points: Renowned for its fastidious attention to detail, fine craftsmanship and killer design, John Varvatos Eyewear is created for the man of style and substance. Look for the signature hallmarks on every pair, and the subtle double V for Varvatos engraved on the lens of each pair of sunglasses. The V766 is a bold acetate aviator with laser engraving on the bridge and a bevel on the temple. The V775 has temples hand-wrapped in genuine leather, while the V776, a modern aviator, has an angular shape with filigree details. Guitar neck temples mounted on gradient acetate describes the V777 and classic contours paired with the guitar head hinge make up the V779. Lastly, the V780 is set off by epoxy filled textured temples and a formidable acetate front. The opticals include three-piece mounts and vintage inspired acetates, thoughtfully hand-crafted in Japan for optimal quality. The V142 is constructed from a sophisticated three-piece mount with discerning filigree details on the brushed metal temples. The V345 has brave geometry and signature guitarhead hinges, while the V346 is classic rectangle shape that works for most every man in gradient acetate. Lightweight construction in a slender shape describes the V347 and the V348 is an optical essential that completes the head to toe Varvatos look.
Price Guide: $$$$
www.basecurveeyewear.com

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Mykita Introduces Spring/Summer 2012 Styles


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Quick Take: For spring/summer 2012 Mykita has transferred the panto form of the 1930s into the present.
Specifics: Four new sun models.
Selling Points: The design and styling of the new models is representative of a recurring theme in Mykita’s philosophy – “employing technical and aesthetic innovation to create collections that adopt classic forms of the past while at the same time being an expression of the present.” The Teiti, Thorvald and Cecile reference the quintessential “intellectual” glasses from the 1920s and 1930s, the panto. The word panto has its origins in a Greek term meaning “all, every, entire.” The size of the lens corresponds to the human eye socket, which is why panto is considered the first lens form to enable the wearer to see “everything.” This classic spectacles frame celebrated its first comeback in the late 1960s as an expression of opposition to the traditional, conservative lifestyle. In the 1980s the fashion world became interested in the panto look and popularized it in all colors and forms. For 2012 Mykita has launched a third renaissance of the round/oval-shaped classic; the stainless steel models Teiti and Thorvald from the Lite collection boast fine contours, large frames and tinted lenses in cobalt blue, bordeaux red, green and black. The panto form is also revisited in the Cecile model from Mykita’s acetate collection. The flowing transitions from bridge and sides into the frame are the characteristic features of this frame, while its counterpart Carlos has a more square-shaped look. Both models were configured for the here-and-now in the color combinations tobago with brown lenses and amber with green lenses.
Price Guide: $$$$$
www.mykita.com

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READERS/ACCESSORIES

Cinzia Designs Launches Mission Impossible Collection


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Quick Take: Cinzia Designs, a division of Europa International, has introduced the Mission Impossible Collection of readers for men.
Specifics: Four new men’s reader styles in three classic color ways.
Selling Points: Featuring a combination of rectangular and square eye shapes, all four styles in this collection offer a bold, masculine appeal. Two out of the four styles boast a metal front with acetate temples and the other two feature an acetate front; one with acetate temples and the other with metal. All four styles come in three classic color ways featuring a combination of black, tortoise, bronze and gray.
Price Guide: $$
www.cinziadesigns.com

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ALSO NEW

McGee Bows the Elegance Collection from Boutique by Totally Rimless

The newest collection from Boutique by Totally Rimless creates a fashionable look with the latest in lightweight jewelry inspired design. The Elegance collection from the McGee Group also features the Totally Rimless Snap-Lock Rimless technology and adjustable nose pads for a sure fit. The TR 180 offers a woven metal temple with jeweled embellishments. The TR 181 has a small braided and jeweled design on the temple and the TR 182 is more streamlined with a cutaway oval design and bejeweled angular temples. Accounts who purchase the entire collection will receive a counter card and a free frame of their choice from any Totally Rimless collection. www.mcgeegroup.com

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Charmant Offers Limited Edition Esprit Frames

Charmant has debuted two limited edition vintage style frames from the Esprit optical eyewear collection. The frames vintage styles celebrate classic good looks and evoke the freedom and joy of Esprit’s 1960s California heritage, according to the company. The ET 9352A is a timeless tortoise frame with oval lenses and the ET 9343A is a brown frame with round lenses and a black temple detail. www.charmant.com

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Okia Bows the New Watercolour Collection

Okia’s new Watercolour Collection is a romantic explosion of spring birds and floral patterns. Entirely realized through the application of the HDA Technology, this special collection takes its inspiration from the art of watercolor thanks to its elegant design and soft colors like pink, light blue and green. Details are illuminated through the company’s BMT technique, a special application which allows ultra-sharp cutting for all patterns and gives them a bright metallic effect. www.okia.com

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