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BITTER: The Perfect Blend of Sculptural Beauty and Bold Colours

GIGI Studios Bitter

Introducing the BITTER sunglasses from the Odd Fruits capsule collection; a women’s model with a handcrafted frame made of high-quality Italian acetate. The oval-shaped BITTER stands out for the variety of thicknesses and laminations that add depth and new nuances to this design.

Meticulously created by the GIGI STUDIOS team in Barcelona, the Odd Fruits collection incorporates bold colours and delicate sculptural shapes with soft bevels and geometric silhouettes, a statement of style and personality.

Distributed by GIGI STUDIOS: gigistudios.com

About GIGI STUDIOS:

GIGI Studios is a brand founded in Barcelona by a family that has always been surrounded by glasses. This family spirit has led to partnerships with independent eyewear sellers and distributors in more than 45 countries. At GIGI Studios, we transmit knowledge and experience while passionately embracing the future.

Without distinction, GIGI Studios wants to support people in their self-expression by making them feel more creative and self-confident. GIGI Studios’ designs are the result of constant improvement, a process of exploration through materials, shapes, and colours seeking designs that enhance the uniqueness of the individual.

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Angela Bonfanti Becomes First Female President and CEO of CNIB

CNIB announced that Angela Bonfanti, a 13-year veteran of the CNIB team, became the organization’s first female president and CEO. After holding several leadership positions at CNIB – including, most recently, the position of Chief Operating Officer – Angela succeeds John M. Rafferty, who has been CNIB’s president since 2009. 

“It’s an understatement to say that I’m excited and honoured to be taking on this role. After 13 years with CNIB, I know what we’re capable of as a team, and it’s absolutely limitless. I’m thrilled to discover what we’ll accomplish together in the years to come for our community of people impacted by blindness from coast to coast to coast.”

Angela Bonfanti, President and CEO, CNIB

CNIB Angela Bonfanti
Angela Bonfanti

As the daughter of a person who is blind, Angela has been a lifelong champion of the rights of Canadians living with blindness or low vision. And with more than a decade of experience with CNIB, she not only understands the nuanced challenges facing people who are blind, Deafblind, or who have low vision, but she has been instrumental in tackling those challenges – from implementing innovative community programs to driving crucial changes to legislation affecting Canadians who are blind to leading the urgently-needed development of CNIB’s virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“She is a skilled, passionate, experienced, and forward-thinking leader who has proven, time and again, that she puts the needs and goals of our community first, always. Although we reviewed a wide range of strong candidates for this role, including both external and internal candidates from across Canada and internationally, Angela is the one who fully encapsulated the qualities we need in CNIB’s next president.” 

Robert Fenton, Chair of the Board of Directors, CNIB

In taking on the presidency of CNIB, Angela also proudly becomes the first female president and CEO of our affiliate organization, CNIB Deafblind Community Services (DBCS). 

To learn more about Angela, visit cnib.ca/ceo

Source: CNIB

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2024 Optical Design Contest: Discover the Selection of Nominees

SILMO Paris 2024

Enhancing expertise, stimulating innovation and championing the sector: SILMO also promotes tomorrow’s talent with the Optical Design Contest. Open to design school students around the world, the third edition of the contest focuses on accessory glasses that, aside from correcting and protecting the wearer’s vision, explore new functionalities and uses.

Chaired by Olivier Jault and made up of optics and design professionals, the jury met at the start of July to assess the projects submitted from various design schools and select the most pertinent to the theme.

A renowned shoe designer, Olivier Jault joined the fashion and accessories sector after passing the entrance exams for the Duperré School of Applied Arts. With an applied arts degree in his back pocket, he presented his first shoe collection. He then collaborated with many prestigious brands such as Martin Margiela, Givenchy with Alexander McQueen, Saint-Laurent with Tom Ford, J.M. Weston, Repetto, Jean Paul Gaultier and many others. With a great passion for shoes, Olivier Jault is also co-commissioner of the “Jean-paul Gaultier pour Stéphane Kélian: Roman d’une rencontre” exhibition at the Shoe Museum in Romans-sur-Isère, which can be visited until 3 November 2024.

Jury members reviewed the projects, taking into account their creative, innovative design dimension and the proposed product’s use and function within the scope of the theme. The project’s feasibility, including the production of a 3D printed prototype, was also assessed.

The jury will meet at SILMO on the morning of 20 September to choose the winner from among the selected designs:

DISTROAL by Thomas Deneufbourg – École de Design Nantes Atlantique

Glasses as support accessories for users that have specific needs, including people affected by disorders on the autism spectrum and anxiety disorders. Distroal means “calming’ in the Breton language.

 LUCID by Perrine Payen – Rubika

“Forgotten objects” like the pocket watch and the monocle are recycled and find a new life by being transformed into elegant magnifying glasses.

RHOÉ by Theo Vanpoperynghe – ISD Rubika

An original designer device to help with eye strain.

SOUND SIGHT by Nolan Guenot -Ecole Supérieur De Design de Troyes

Bone conduction glasses, proven technology that is reinvented here with an aerial aesthetic.

SPECTAPOP by Camille Grand – ISD Rubika

Glasses with an uncompromising, attention-grabbing, fun design for visual hide-and-seek.

VIEWPROJECT by Amélie MEERSSEMAN – École de design Nantes Atlantique

Innovative, designer protective eyewear, imagined as fit-over glasses for prescription eyeglass wearers.

We invite you to learn more about these innovative projects at SILMO Paris and join us in celebrating tomorrow’s optical design talent.

Source: SILMO Paris

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AYA Eyewear + Corrine Hunt’s New Eyewear Collaboration is Wearable Art that Celebrates the Extraordinary Iris Apfel

AYA optical IRIS BLUE TORTOISE

AYA announces the launch of their latest collaboration, “Iris” – a new addition to their eyewear collection that honours the rich tapestry of indigenous art with a distinct nod to fashion. Inspired by the late legendary style icon Iris Apfel, these bold round frames are poised to inspire the optical world to embrace their inner Iris, with this unique blend of fashion forward style, craftsmanship and cultural significance.

Crafted from luxurious acetate, “Iris” boasts a design that pays homage to the distinctive round frames that have become synonymous with Ms. Apfel’s fearless sense of style. Iris was a true visionary, who saw the world through her own lens, with her maximalist approach to style and her trademark dramatic, chunky round-framed specs. Iris’s adage? “More is more, and less is a bore.”

Claudia Alan- AYA Optical Iris

Iris is available for $185 in glossy black or a mesmerizing tortoise pattern infused with hints of blue, gold, and brown.  Each pair of “Iris” frames is a masterpiece in its own right. But what truly sets “Iris” apart is its homage to indigenous artistry. Adorning the temples of these exquisite frames is a stunning gold heron design, meticulously crafted by contemporary Indigenous artist Corrine Hunt. This intricate motif not only adds a touch of elegance to “Iris” but also serves as a celebration of indigenous culture and heritage.

“We are incredibly proud to introduce ‘Iris’ to the optical trade. Representation has always been a non-negotiable at AYA, in our pursuit of change within the mainstream fashion realm. This latest collaboration is a celebration of cultural heritage and a means of fostering cross-cultural understanding. It is a fusion of art and fashion, and much like Iris herself, a challenge to pre-conceived notions of fashion. With ‘Iris,’ we aim to honor the legacy of Iris Apfel while also paying tribute to the rich traditions of indigenous artistry.” 

Carla D’Angelo, AYA founder

With its durable construction, distinctive, wearable style, and cultural significance, “Iris” is poised to make a lasting impact on the optical industry. Whether worn for fashion or function, these frames are guaranteed to turn heads and spark conversations.

For more information, visit Claudia Alan.

Click HERE for the press release.

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Alexis MABILLE is Chairman of the 2024 Silmo d’Or Awards

SILMO Paris 2024

Hailing from Lyon, Alexis Mabille has had a passion for fashion since a very early age. He graduated in 1997 from the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne before working with the major Parisian fashion houses. In 2005, he created his eponymous brand with the aim of blending clothing tradition, a certain sex appeal and the energy of our time. Upending codes, twisting silhouettes, mixing periods… Alexis Mabille cultivates a playful spirit to create a light-minded and elegant wardrobe. He has rejuvenated the bow tie, going so far as to make it into his icon, then developed men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, accessory and tailored collections. He has thus been on the official calendar of Haute Couture since 2021.

Silmo d'or 2024 president

Passionate about many different artistic disciplines, Alexis Mabille couldn’t simply settle just for clothing. He quickly moves onto other creative realms, including interior decorating with his office Beau Bow. He brings his conception of the art of living to private apartments, restaurants and other entertainment venues (he recently designed the new décor of Lido in Paris). Since 2021, he has even created limited edition furniture.

For Alexis Mabille, a person’s overall environment is an essential component that influences their well-being. Just as a silhouette should emphasize the body while still being comfortable and just as a space’s interior should express the personality of its host while being suited to their lifestyle, a pair of glasses should highlight the character of the person wearing them while being functional and durable. By sharing his design expertise and creative vision with the members of the jury of the 2024 SILMO d’Or awards, he will provide valuable insight into this daily object that only needs to be enhanced by a shape, a material or an innovation.

Click HERE for the press release.

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