The first edition of the LOFTxTEF Awards (a collaboration between LOFT Eyewear Shows and TEF Magazine) was held on the 22nd of March, at the LOFT Independence Party. After going through 105 submissions, our grand jury nominated 6 brands for each of the 4 categories, being Fashion Frame, Fashion Sunglass, Technical Frame and Technical Sunglass.
Excitement grew after the online voting by opticians from all over the world, in the facebook groups of both LEF and TEF. Those votes each counted as a single vote that was to be added to the votes of our celebrity judges, which we would like to thank again for their participation:
Errin Morgan – Eyecare Business Magazine | James Spina – 20/20 Magazine | Cristina Frasca – LYF Magazine | Deirdre Carroll – Invision Magazine | Maarten Weidema – TEF Magazine | Louis Fullagar – Luxury Eyewear Forum | Richard Mewha – LOFT Eyewear Shows | Julia Gogosha – Gogosha Optique | Micki Lorelli – Juno Beach Optical | Stephanie Haenes – Art of Optiks | Darryl Glover – Eye See Euphoria | Pierce Voorthuis – Georgetown Opticians | Blaž Oberč – Laibach & York
We take pride in announcing the winners of the first LOFTxTEF Awards,
for their excellence in eyewear design!
BEST FASHION FRAME 2019
In the category Fashion Frame, the TEFFIE went to Blake Kuwahara for his amazing LARABEE design. While expanding on his signature “frame-within-a-frame” laminated construction, Kuwahara deconstructs the inner silhouette and continues to explore negative space this season.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”Blake Kuwahara” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”16″]”Deconstruction whether in fashion or food forces us to look at something we often take for granted in a new way. I wanted to explore that same construct by breaking up the normally consistent line of the inner silhouette. I think it does two things: the eye actually fills in the missing void, and the negative space it creates brings a modernity to the frame”[/perfectpullquote]
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BEST TECHNICAL FRAME 2019
In the category Technical Frame, the new aluminium APOLLO design by Theo Eyewear received the award. Aluminium has created the potential for mankind to fly far away into space and forever change the way it looks at the world, the universe and itself. That got theo thinking… Why not change the way people see the world close by and around them and also use aluminium to achieve it?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”Theo Loves You!” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”16″] Our new Space-Frames are very sturdy and over-engineered to take a daily beating, they have an impeccably sharp look and are incredibly light*. And because aluminium is not very flexible (ever seen elastic rockets?), we used flex hinges to guarantee absolute comfort on each and every face. As an extra, they are nickel-free, which makes chances of allergic reactions about as low as finding extra-terrestrial life on the Moon. we also take future generations into consideration: since the aluminium can be fully recycled, they are 100% eco-friendly. But most importantly, they are sure to completely change the way you see the world as well as the way people see you. Divine.[/perfectpullquote]
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BEST TECHNICAL SUNGLASS 2019
Best Technical Sunglass was won by Rolf Spectacles for their new titanium glasses that made the leap from rapid prototyping to crafting a high-end titanium product. Driven by the wish of creating fresh innovations, they found inspiration in a world that is limitless. The result is one of the most exceptional and future-forward collections among the ROLF family.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”Rolf Spectacles” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”16″]We are super happy that our sunglasses model Osaka from the 3D printed Titanium Skyline collection won the LOFTxTEF Award and the whole ROLF team including their two US colleagues Dominik and Molly are thrilled about the victory. Especially while the prize was launched by TEF Magazine and the LOFT Eyewear Shows, which are known for supporting independent eyewear brands. The event “Awards for Excellence in Eyewear Design” was held for the first time. We are proud to have won the first award with a model of the new Titanium Skyline collection. Thank you for the great organization of the LOFT fair in New York.[/perfectpullquote]
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BEST FASHION SUNGLASS 2019
In the category Fashion Sunglass, a second TEFFIE went to Blake Kuwahara for his uber-cool MOORE frame, that uses the same deconstruction principle of negative space as his LARABEE model.
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The winners of the LOFTxTEF Awards represent bold and innovative designers that are setting new standards for excellence in eyewear design. We congratulate the winners of this year, and would like to thank the celebrity judges, as well as the voting retailers of LEF and TEF for their cooperation! Until next year!
