framebuyer
designers' notebook
by Lindsey Aspinall

"Retro is a sophisticated, cool, sometimes ironic take on the pop culture and design of the 1930s to 1980s," writes Imma Zandl in a Chief Marketer article. "It represents a generational response by the under-40 crowd against the uniformity and slickness of today's mass marketing."

Today's retro frames invoke a time past, but have been given a modern twist. Here's what today's trend-setting optical designers had to say about their retro inspirations.

"This design [CR 14253] was inspired by a very modern vision of fashion sunglasses circa 1970. A time of pure fantasy, freedom of expression expressed by art, fashion, movies, and music. A time when glamour was not all about expensive and overexposed products, it was a very individualist and free approach. This design for us is a tribute to these fabulous years."

  — Christian Roth and Eric Domage of Christian Roth
 

— Larry Leight of Oliver Peoples

"When designing the Queenie, I envisioned an oversized retro style that offered universal wearability. The process involved developing an oversized piece with clean, simple lines and then softening it up with fresh new spring colors such as walnut stripe and cherry stripe, and seamless integration of the

— Troy Schmidt of OSA International

"My design philosophy is about looking back to reach forward. Each season's fashion collection is made with unique and individual details that come about through hand aging processes and whip-stitch finishes. In keeping with this idea, the eyewear collection brings together hand-crafted design elements—fine, filigree detail on bridges, stamped end pieces and temples—with modern silhouettes that use clean aerodynamic lines." (Shown: V103, top, and V102)

— John Varvatos, designer

— Sheila Vance of SAMA