Iconic eyewear designers were the major theme at the third Fete de la Vue which took place last Saturday in Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin at Noordwijk. Famous fashion designers such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld for example are known by a large audience. Eyewear designers however are more anonymous and in many cases entrepreneurs and employees will have no idea of the faces behind the prescription frames and sunglasses they sell. The same is true for the fashion press. To change this a bit and introduce some faces behind the brands we did a series of mini-interviews with Larry Leight of Oliver Peoples, Shane Baum of Baumvision, Jean Francois Rey of J.F. Rey, Ralph Anderl of ic!berlin, Christian Roth and Eric Domège of Christian Roth, Alain Mikli of Mikli, Henrik Lindberg of Lindberg, Oliver Goldsmith of Oliver Goldsmith and Marie Wilkinson of Cutler and Gross. Without pretending these are all important designers, together they are at least an illustrious group of people who certainly influenced and still influences the design directions in the optical industry and already left behind some major landmarks. Not all of them could attempt the party at Noordwijk but Alain Mikli and Christian Roth and Eric Domège were there. They were accompanied by another great name and often imitated designer: Cari Zalloni of Cazal. The movies received great critics and once again made clear that the frames and sunglasses independent opticians sell, cannot be compared to the mass production people will find at cheap optical chains. The passion and emotion of all the designers could be felt in the room when they explained about their work. In combination with the unmatched hospitality of the best hotel of the country, the exquisite dinner and the great afterparty, this once again became one of the unforgettable nights in the history of the Dutch optical branch. All guests from other countries unanimously expressed their feelings saying this should happen not only here but everywhere in the world as nowhere else optics and eyewear are presented as inspiring as they are in the Netherlands. Have a look at our event page to see all the pictures of the evening!
