We sat down with Petra Ekborn, our Creative Director to find out what her top tips are for choosing the perfect pair of frames.
Petra joined the team 2 years ago to design our first female focussed eyewear range and support our creative vision - innovating, pushing boundaries and bringing an international lens to our easy-to-wear frames.
Petra has over a decade of experience designing eyewear for the likes of Linda Farrow, Dries Van Noten, The Row, Alexander Wang and Christian Dior - so we trust her advice!
What's the single most important thing when designing eyewear?
Eyewear design is a mix of fashion accessory design and product design, so it’s very important to find a balance between style and functionality.
It’s a product which is used to enhance a look, but also needs to shield and protect your eyes. We try not to take everything too seriously, but eye protection is definitely one of those things we don’t mess around with.
Form and functionality will always be at the core of the design process at Local Supply.
Where do you look to for inspiration?
Inspiration is interesting as it’s not always something concrete and tangible - it can also be a mood or the spirit of a place and time.
Art, Architecture and Popular Culture are rich inspiration sources. It is, of course, impossible not to also look at the fantastic history of eyewear throughout the centuries.
How true is it that you need to match your glasses to your face shape?
Eyewear is a really personal product and most people have a go-to shape that works for them and that fits their look and lifestyle and I don’t think it’s limited to face shape.
Eyewear is a product you can have fun with so it’s good to step outside of your comfort zone and of the idea of what “fits”, and play with multiple styles and colours. Sometimes it’s more about matching your mood, or complementing who you are and how you want to express yourself, rather than simply just fitting your face.
What are the top 3 things people should look for in a pair of glasses as their number one?
In no particular order, these are the things that you should keep in mind when buying a frame:
Emotional response, a good pair of sunglasses should make you feel good whether these particular frames are for fun holiday times or more for everyday wear.
Another thing to consider is fit/comfort and, last but not least, functionality - do they pass all the standards required for eyewear. At Local supply we aim to fulfil all 3 of these with every pair.
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