Victor Glemaud is launching eyewear — and more than just a luxury foray into the familiar accessories territory, the label’s designer specs are crafted with diversity in mind.
In a new collaboration with optical design house Tura, the collection, which officially debuts at New York City’s Vision Expo East on Friday, is tailor made to fit women of color.
“What was the most exciting and what I’ve learned the most about from our first conversation with Tura was this idea of the fit of glasses for women and people of color, the idea of the bridge of your nose, the temple…how things sort of rest on your cheekbones. Until they explained it to me I was, like, ‘Oh, that’s why glasses and sunglasses do not fit me.’ Black people’s faces or people of color, it’s rounder, [there’s] the flare of the bridge of the nose, it’s all of these different things that I never thought about. Similarly to clothes, the fit matters,” the creative director told WWD.
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“There is again, surprise, surprise, an untapped market that is overlooked and we’re just navigating this space not realizing that what we’re purchasing doesn’t fit us and is not designed with the intention to properly fit our facial structure,” Glemaud said.
So, more than nearly two years, tapping Tura’s eyewear expertise, bringing in Black and brown fit models and exploring the real meaning of diversity of fit, Glemaud developed a colorful, contemporary collection of 12 optical models in 38 colors, and six sunglass models in 14 colors.
“With my clothing design, it is about color, it is about texture, it is about pattern. And all of those things are also in the eyewear,” Glemaud said.
In the case of the latter, colors are nearly all custom made for the collection and in a palette “designed to really pop off of deep, rich skin tones,” said Jennifer Coppel, vice president of brand management at Tura. The high-fashion, handmade acetate frames produced in Asia feature nontraditional shapes, end-piece detailing and, in some cases, tortoise at the temple tips.
“Many of the temples feature European crystals, they have hand-enameled details, there’s a lot of really complex construction in all of these frames to give it that luxurious perspective,” Coppel said. “Whether it’s enamel or stone setting, each of the tips features a beautiful little cutout oval grommet that really ties back to Victor’s brand because he uses cutouts throughout his apparel, so this was a shape that he felt really spoke to his brand.”
But it’s the fit that’s the main point of focus. Coined by Glemaud as “Forever Fit,” the tailored styles ensure glasses are correctly positioned on the face, allow for a wider nasal flare to prevent bridge gaping and sinus pressure and, according to Tura, “a tailored B measurement to lift away from resting on the cheekbones.”
“We’re always designing with a particular consumer in mind and we’re always trying to make sure in all of our brands that we’re addressing a variety of consumers — so a variety of ethnicities, a variety of fit needs, a variety of size needs and we are tailoring every dimension,” Coppel said. “But in the Glemaud collection, we said, ‘OK, but there really isn’t enough product period in the market for this one community so let’s really zone in and make a collection just for them.’”
The campaign is as colorful as the collection, featuring diverse models dressed in Glemaud’s spring 2022 women’s collection on a cyan shade backdrop inspired by the designer’s trip to Lefkada, Greece, while the collection was in development.
For now, the collection — which ranges in price from $225 to $300 — is just for women, but discussions around a men’s set are already underway.
The Glemaud x Tura collection will be on display from Friday in Tura’s booth (P1609) at Vision Expo. A special fit-model presentation to demonstrate the tailored fit will take place at 2 and 3 p.m. in Tura’s booth and at 4:15 p.m. in the Now lounge. Presale will be available at the expo, and the collection will roll out in select optical shops across North America, starting in May with 18 styles.
What Glemaud is most excited about is addressing a market that has been historically overlooked as an intentionally targeted consumer group — across many categories.
“To me, this has impact. It feels bigger than race or gender. It just feels important,” he said. “I think this partnership will really illustrate that and show what we’re doing in the clothing will work in eyewear, will work in other categories. So I’m really excited to have this be our first accessory brand extension, if you will, because it has value, it has impact and it’s not just slapping my name on something.
“It has intention and that’s really important.”