silmo report

Hot Stuff: Silmo 2011

Amy Spiezio

The temperature was just one hot aspect of Silmo this year. While the summer extended itself in the French capitol, Silmo 2011 delivered on bright ideas and colors for the year to come with strong trends driving design. Style and product developments include the following.

COLOR. Bright hues were in sight throughout the show floor. Where smokey grays and rich chocolatey browns were out in force, they were crystallized or teamed with vivid touches inside the temples. Blue was the color of choice, popping up in navy, peacock, and even sky shades in both sunglass and ophthalmic styles.

ORGANICS. Saving the Earth was a strong message, whether in recycling messages or with the increased use of natural materials from horn to wood. On the manufacturing side, acetate masters Mazzucchelli presented its Bioplast material, made with non-petroleum plasticizers for a completely organic frame material.

TECHNOLOGY. Frame and lens technologies continue to advance. On the lens side, Tribrid from PPG, Thai Optical Group, and Novocel just expanded the Trivex material into a whole new world of applications.

LOVELY LAYERS. Depth was a major factor in design this season with frames featuring sneak peeks of deep layers with cutaway or ground-down layers that give a look at what's going on beneath the front of eyewear. Also on show were stacked acetates and metals as well as solid frame fronts carved and cut to look like multi-layered glasses within glasses.

RETRO: FOREVER? The classic looks are staying strong as the 1920s through 1980s continue to deeply influence design. While the shapes are more actively reinterpreted, the iconic looks are maintaining a leadership position in terms of style.

1. Pretty peacock blue with a neutral nude cutaway from Face-a-Face; 2. Kirk Original's news Sunbeam collection shines; 3. Organic materials like wood and horn were seen in a variety of forms such as frames and cases by Smith and Norbu; 4. In the category of Innovation & Technology, Lindberg received the Silmo d'Or for the new Horn designs; 5. The latest additions to Mykita's No. 1 collection; 6. Tribrid lenses were presented at a press conference; 7. The Gamma from W-Eye is carved wood and aluminum in a variety of colors with no hinges or screws; 8. PPG's Christine Camsuzou announces the launch of Tribrid lenses; 9. Rich purples and blues were out in force, shown, new styles from Bevel; 10. Orgreen's sunglasses feature a splash of neon