style but in a very understated
way. I’m not trying to use
my eyewear as a substitute
for a personality but rather
to enhance my overall design
aesthetic.
WHAT MAKES EYEWEAR THE
ULTIMATE ACCESSORY?
It’s on your face; it’s the first
thing that people see. That by
its very definition makes it the
ultimate accessory.
I’VE DECIDED I’M GOING TO BE
A STYLE ICON, HOW WOULD
I GO ABOUT CHOOSING MY
SIGNATURE FRAME?
When you are choosing any
accessory, it is about your
overall, head-to-toe presence.
How you dress, your lifestyle,
the colour palette that you wear.
It’s not done independently of
the total context of your fashion
lifestyle.
HOW MANY PAIRS OF GLASSES
DO YOU OWN?
Good question. I haven’t
counted. Probably in the
hundreds.
(Editor's Note: Jealous!!!!!!)
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE
YOUR APPROACH TO DESIGN
IN ONE WORD? I'M FEELING
GENEROUS. IT CAN BE
HYPHENATED IF YOU NEED IT.
So I get two words?
BUT ONE HAS TO BE A
MODIFIER.
Artfully-restrained.
WHAT ARE YOU DYING TO
SPLURGE ON?
It falls under that same category
S y l va n u s - U r b a n . c o m
as artfully-restrained, and I
already have two. WHAT’S A TYPICAL DAY IN
YOUR DESIGN LIFE?
ANYTHING UNDER FIVE IS
RESTRAINED. I wish I could say it’s all about
picking out colours. I think
for any designer, whether it’s
fashion, eyewear, architect
or graphic designer, I would
say 10% of what I do is
creative. The rest of the time
you spend on the non-sexy
stuff like engineering and
manufacturing. That’s what
really makes a frame a frame
or a suit a suit. The materials
are one thing, and the design
is something else, but it’s how
you structure the suit which
allows for your designs to be
expressed perfectly.
It’s the big travel-size Birkin.
I’m dying for one in a different
colour. I have camel, and I have
black. I’m looking for something
a little bit more exotic.
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING
YOU GOOGLED?
Hugh Grant. But I’ll tell you why.
I flew to Toronto, and on the
plane I watched Florence Jenkins
the movie. He was in there with
Meryl Streep. He plays like an
older guy and I was thinking is
that makeup or is he just old.
SO HOW OLD IS HE?
He’s 56. He was born in 1960 - I
looked that up too.
YOU’RE BASED IN CALIFORNIA,
SPLITTING YOUR TIME
BETWEEN L.A. AND SAN
FRANCISCO. DO YOU HAVE A
FAVOURITE SPOT IN EITHER
CITY THAT INSPIRES YOU?
In L.A. I live in West Hollywood,
so my go to place is Chateau
Marmont. Have you been there?
NO, BUT MY RESEARCH SHOWS
THAT LINDSAY LOHAN USED
TO LOVE IT.
Without a doubt every time I’m
there, there is some celebrity.
What’s cool about it is it’s not
some hotspot where people go
to be seen. They don’t let you
use your phones so you can’t
take pictures, so it’s very low-
key. People are just hanging out,
the ambiance is great. It’s very
old-school Hollywood.
The Edge
THIS LAST ONE IS MAYBE
NOT SO MUCH A QUESTION
BUT A CRY FOR HELP.
YOUR GLASSES TAKE NINE
MONTHS TO PRODUCE, FOR
SOMEONE WHO ADMITTEDLY
HAS AN EXTREMELY SHORT
ATTENTION SPAN, WHAT IS
THE KEY TO YOUR PATIENCE?
I’m probably one of the most
impatient people around. So
the fact that it takes so long
is a bit crazy making. I’ve
resigned myself to the fact the
design process can still happen
in the now; it can happen
immediately, and that has its
own energy around it. And
then the product is ordered,
it then goes into someone
else hands to produce, but
I’m already on to something
else and something else
beyond that. I’m working on
three collections at once, so
I think that tends to satisfy
impatience. It's not designed
and then wait nine months, a
lot of things happen in parallel
and not just sequentially.
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