July 11, 2011 |
FROM THE VAULT (SPRING SUMMER 2011)
We had him down on our list as the ‘glass guy’. Ouuu, homeware, controversial we thought. Till a passing stranger corrected us mid virtue extoiling of new avant garde homeware, and we went home and googled. Ouuu, eyewear we thought. We’ve always been partial to a nice pair of specs, and those leather framed numbers, we’ll if it takes sitting with our noses pressed up against the computer screen for 10 hours a day to kill our vision so we can wear them, so be it.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN ACCESSORY DESIGN? WELL MORE HOW DID YOU END UP DESIGNING GLASSES? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
I’ve got a book coming out next year: a definitive history of eyewear, combined with elements of autobiography. Taschen is publishing it. I’ve seen the layouts: it looks really beautiful. In a nutshell… I got out of film school, realized the non-mainstream projects that interested me wouldn’t earn me a living, got to know successful people in that industry that were unhappy, realized even if I succeeded I’d probably end up like them, and went through an aimless, disillusioned period. Meanwhile I always loved fashion and especially eyewear as a design object. I was a collector of antique and vintage eyewear. I then fell in love with a girl that lived far away, decided that if I could monetize the medium I loved it might be a solution to us being together, and decided to start making things. I never did have an actual “job” in fashion before deciding to create. My visual arts training, combined with an obsessive interest in Rock and Roll style subcultures and fashion in general stood me in good stead.
WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
I do a bunch of stuff. The book’s 400 pages long with about 1200 images and will hopefully become the standard reference for eyewear. I also do a ton of one-of-a-kind custom and editorial pieces, as well as low production, individually crafted pieces and other things that might be considered unusual or ambitious within my category. But why do I do it? I guess it’s largely a matter of personal pride. I’ve always considered myself an artist. I’d like to apply that sensibility to an area that’s traditionally never been considered an artistic medium, but should be. No other object effects the wearer’s persona as much. At the risk of sounding like a blowhard… My goal is to come as close to artistic greatness within this medium as I possibly can…
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER? MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT?
Finding out Anna Wintour actually liked what I was doing, which happened early on. I actually found out through a random conversation at a bus stop that she’d called me “brilliant”. I was astonished. Validation on that level seemed almost beyond comprehension. I’d been working on a very humble level, in a relative vacuum. Her knowing I even existed would have surprised me. Being honored by the CFDA/Vogue was an equal highlight, but marginally less of an out-and-out shock.
HOW DID YOU END UP IN NEW YORK?
An accident of birth. I was born here.
WHAT’S YOUR SECRET FOR MAKING IT IN NEW YORK?
Unless you’re born well connected or a gifted hang-out artist, success is a war of attrition. The road is especially non-linear in the arts. Pick something you like, focus on it, then stick to your guns and keep the faith.
ARE YOU A SPECTACLE WEARER YOURSELF? FOUR EYES GOOD, TWO EYES BAD?
Answering that would be a spoiler for the book (heh, heh).
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PEOPLE WHO WEAR FAKE GLASSES?
Eyewear allows you to control your persona and enables you to project anything you want. It’s unsurprising more style-conscious people are taking advantage of it.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD PAIR OF GLASSES?
Quality of design and manufacture. Style. The right interplay between wearer and worn object. The right corrective lenses, if needed.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CONTACT LENSES? CORRECTIVE EYE SURGERY?
The inverse of what I think about people who wear glasses and don’t need them. People who get them are failing to take advantage of the most dynamic accesory there is.
by Natalie Dembinska
Photograph by Rainer Hosch – www.rainerhosch.com
