THROWING SHADE: Selfridges is teaming with model and social entrepreneur Lily Cole to unveil a new collection from Wires, an eyewear brand cofounded by Cole and Yair Neuman.
The pop-up will run until July 15 in Selfridges’ personalization area on the lower ground floor.
For the second collection, Neuman took a modular approach to the design: An invisible hinge was added on the wire frame to allow the wearer to collapse and store the sunglasses with ease.
The sunglasses are created to be completely customizable, with lenses that can be switched and interchanged. “It’s a nice way to marry off a desire for newness and new designs and allow people to experiment and play — but to do so in a way that is less demanding on the material,” Cole said.
The wire frames — handmade by a family-run business in Italy — retail between 140 pounds and 270 pounds and the interchangeable rims retail at 50 pounds.
Related Galleries
To mark the opening of the pop-up, Cole and Neuman have created a special-edition pair of glasses inspired by Selfridges’ heritage, priced at 220 pounds.
Sustainability was also a driving force behind the design. “We minimize waste in the production process because we 3-D print the rim instead of cutting out shapes from large sheets of acetate, so there’s zero waste,” Cole said.
The model is an advocate for sustainable fashion. In the past, she has worked on a sustainable knitwear line, a collection of trainers with Veja and jewelry with Wild Forever. “My ethos more or less stays the same and I work on a case-by-case basis of what opportunities present themselves as my approach to sustainability evolves,” she added.
Cole and Neuman are also focusing on a direct-to-consumer strategy through their e-commerce channel and they will be exploring more pop-ups and looking to distribute on other e-commerce sites.
“We’re a start-up and very new as a brand. It’s all evolving so we’re open to trying ideas and seeing what works best,” Cole said.