It’s like these Marc by Marc Jacobs zipper earrings are inviting you to do their wearer a favor and pull them out…

Wanting.

Francois Pinton made sunnies for the classic glamours:Cary Grant, Aristotle O, and these frames are based on the originals Francois designed for Grace Kelly. I tried these on — you get a flattering frame that hides half your face…

Wearing.

I wear these Jacky2 frames — based on the sunnies Francois designed for Jackie O — daily. I’ve also got a pair of prescription Aristotles. I put both Francois Pinton frames on the shelf and let them argue…

Hating.

There’s design that feels retro because it’s an echo of a classic, and then there’s caricatures of fashion thankfully passed. Leave these rhinestoned sunnies to the deranged Dita doubles… ]]> http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2009/04/21/francois-pinton-sunnies-k-is/feed 1 http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2008/07/28/sunnies-k-is http://www.kristopherdukes.com/2008/07/28/sunnies-k-is#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:03:58 +0000 Kristopher http://www.kristopherdukes.com/?p=1099

Wanting.

I love Porsche. I had a tour of their store in Two Rodeo, and discovered Porsche actually designs everything with its name stamped on it. Like all their ish, there’s a real elegance in the economy of these sunnies’ design…

Hating.

You get what you pay for, but what’s costing you more than rent for these sunnies is less gold plate and ebony wood, and more marketing. Though Tom Ford is beautiful, and I do feel honored to contribute to his Botox fund…

Wearing.

Built by the man who created Jackie O’s original glammy glasses. I found these at Hotel de Ville, which also carries Aristotle Onassis’s frames. I’m buying those next, and the two glasses can sit on my dresser and fight over money…

Wanting.

These clear acrylic, glammy glasses remind me I want a flat full of lucite furniture. Very Scarface, right…

Wearing.

Hopefully the only time you’ll wish a tube of fruitiness was bigger, so you could rub it all over you…

Hating.

Giuseppe’s genius is wasted on these thongs. Wedges work just as well as flats when you’re summer tripping…

You know, writing the opposite-of-wet stories.

Most people’s “when I make it” includes a car they’ll accessorize with leather interiors that clean nice after pricey blow jobs, but I’d rather own Porsche sunglasses–Carrera-style–and a driver, than a Carrera.

Till Alfred’s chauffeuring me to strip clubs, I’ll be in fifth gear in five-inch heels and these Porsche sunglasses, sipping a hellish hot soy latte, double-checking appointments on a smart phone smarter than I, I–

Figure I can blame an accident on being a ¼ Asian Cracker Jap.

» Porsche “Carrera” sunglasses, $375, Refinery29Shops.com

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There are the highway patrolman “Cocktails” lenses sported by Avril Lavigne, then there are the Jackie O, “LAX” femme frames donned by skateboard demigod Tony Alva, then there are the feelings that Initium Eyewear’s debut and spring collection toys with gender-bending and sex-negligent aesthetics.

“I intentionally tried to design eyewear that works transgender,” says Darin Dennee, founder and president of San Diego-based Initium sun glasses. “There are a couple styles that lean harder toward women; however, in the current unisex fashion climate, there are no gender rules. It makes the eyewear category very fun. I’ve made a point of trying to show both men and women in the same styles to allow the individual to decide which frames work for them based on shape alone.”

Initium eyewear frames may stand alone, but they sit on displays alongside Gucci and Ray Ban lenses in stores like American Rag and Fred Segal, while Initium the company holds hands with bands: “This brand is meaningless to me as its creator if it doesn’t work alongside artists to promote great music,” says Dennee. “I think that my friends in music as well as my heroes in music have been supportive of Initium due to our synergistic approach. I started the company to make eyewear for musicians and not to merely use their celebrity to sell my product to sheep herding through the malls of America… The brand was linked entirely to music from the beginning due to the fact that my friends and I had moved from a board sports focused lifestyle into activities and careers focused more on music and fashion. It’s a natural progression. You skate and surf your whole life growing up, never make any money at it, and disappoint your parents. So when you get a little older and your back goes out, you move into making music, film and fashion to continue a life’s work of making no money and disappointing your parents.”

Designed by Dennee, his sales team, and music friends — “Not sure how it would be perceived, but none of us have any formal design training other than being very particular and opinionated about style and quality” — , inspired by music — “I design many of my shapes with specific artists in mind” — Initium sunglasses color outside traditional gender image lines while retaining recognizable forms.

“I wanted our line to be a balance of new ideas and reintroductions of classic silhouettes,” explains Dennee. “I felt that designer eyewear was collectively trending toward very forward styles and becoming so slick that it was alienating my demographic: music and fashion enthusiasts. My peer group was buying premium denim for hundreds of dollars and weathered rock-inspired T-shirts for $80 and then paying $9.99 for their eyewear because nothing out there fit within the aesthetic,” an aesthetic with rock n’ roll muses, mirroring the company’s heavy synergy with the music industry.

There are the sleek Boxcars, “a Ray Charles-inspired model, [and] the Cocktails were inspired by the artwork on the Danzig debut vinyl album jacket, [while] the Nighttowns”–thin wires framing a large lenses–”were inspired by Bono and the musical contributions of U2,” describes Dennee.

Rock n’ roll fashion may be tres American, but Initium eyewear itself is manufactured in the land responsible for cappuccinos.

No, Initium doesn’t have a factory in a Starbucks in Seattle.

Think more tutto Italiano.

“We’re out to make the highest quality eyewear possible and it helps to start with a point of origin on our product that is known for quality,” says Dennee. “Italy also boasts such a strong resume and history when it comes to producing eyewear. They have the best mechanical infrastructure and production processes, which tends to translate into the best eyewear. I believe it to be far more than a geographic placebo effect — you can tangibly feel the quality difference between and Italian-made piece and one made in, for instance, China, the second you pick up the frame.”

From very American inspirations and a southern California base, to Italian manufacturing, and distribution as wide as Barney’s New York in Tokyo, Initium lays base for the “international” in the company’s subtitle of

international opticcult (in’ter-nash’e-nel opt’ih-kult): n. 1. my cue to ask Dennee a linguistics question. 2. it’s —

” — a title I came up with for fans of music and fashion who had been neglected for too long in the category of eyewear,” says Dennee. “We were out there all along, restless and waiting for our opportunity to be addressed. Now our allegiance lies with Initium… the uprising has begun.”

And Initium’s definition of “uprising”? See:

1. expansion beyond the compilation CD gift paired with a purchase of their glammy glasses and promotional tee shirts and trucker hats politely plastered with Initium logo and artwork, ie. “We have a bunch of stuff coming down the pike. In addition to the new models, we have a series of events that will begin to showcase the bands we are fortunate enough to work with,” says Dennee. “Best way to get details on the coming events is to get signed up on the Opticcult mailing list at the website… As for the design projects pending, you’ll just have to wait and see how many proverbial ‘checks’ my butt can cash.”

“We don’t intend to limit the brand’s expansion,” continues Dennee. “We intend to make Initium a moniker synonymous with quality and the rock and roll lifestyle in multiple categories of not only fashion, but entertainment as well. There is so much more we want to excel at, but we will do our damnedest to master each category before taking on the next adventure.”

Bravo.