So, Silmo 2018. It was a very last minute decision to attend simply because I am still on maternity leave. I didn’t take the decision to leave my 7.5 months old at home lightly. However, since my editor from New Zealand was attending I thought I would take the opportunity to meet her over this side of the world.
The Eyewear Forum has asked me to contribute my thoughts on Silmo 2018, so here it goes. The show is now in its 51st year, I have certainly been to quite a few of them myself over the years. I have seen quite a few changes over time.
This year I was glad to see the start-up area again and I like the fact they have placed them right by the press area so the press cannot really miss it. It is good to see a big show supporting young brands in the industry. I personally also liked the new Hong Kong area, the small section designated for small start-ups, Hong Kong brands. Being Chinese myself (and from Hong Kong), I was a huge fan of this new section. Finally, it was nice to see brands that were start-ups a few years back become more established with bigger stands to showcase their collections.
As well as my general summary of the show, I am sure you all want to know what eyewear brands stood out to me? There were A. LOT. OF. BRANDS. I always find it hard to pick.
From the Hong Kong area, I would say Neo-Ne, the designer explained all the small intricate details he puts into his eyewear. It is a nice story behind the brand too, it is a father and son business. The dad has been in the optical industry for over 20 years and wanted to create something with the years of experience he’d gained, and pass it all onto his son.
As for more established brands, I love For Arts Sake. Their eyewear is getting more and more creative, experimenting with shapes and different ways to embellish the frames. Not to mention, they now have a MASSIVE celeb following too from Beyonce to J-Lo. I still remember seeing them as a new start-up in London back in 2016, they have grown massively!
For new brands at the show, I quite liked Vowlondon and Rewop. I love the fun aspect of Vowlondon, the shapes and colours are both playful and full of energy. Rewop is focused on simple lines, tinted lens to play with the styling of the frames.
I want to give a special shout-out to Reykjavik Eyes. I have never been a massive fan of metal or rimless frames but Reykjavik Eyes are pretty outstanding with their design and technology behind the glasses. Plus, they are not your “boring” or “standard” looking metal frames either.
Other brands well worth mentioning are all the ones under the Brando umbrella, especially Serge Kirchhofer and Yohji Yamamoto. Serge Kirchhofer never stops to wow me with the creativity behind them. The Yohji Yamamoto designs are simple but the finishing, the colours and the small details ooze Yohji’s DNA to me. Brando has done exceptionally well to really capture the essence of these two brands as their eyewear design partners.
Check out all the brands I mentioned above and see if you agree. Did you attend? What did you think of the show?
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