New products / Fashion house - 5/25/20
Akoni is proud to announce that its Balmain Eyewear Collection, first introduced on the Balmain Paris Fashion Week Fall Winter 2020 runways, will be available on May 25th. The frames will be carried at Balmain boutiques and on Balmain.com, as well as at a select group of premium optical stores, boutiques and global e-tailers.
As was very clear to all attending Balmain’s most recent men’s and women’s shows, Akoni has managed to skillfully incorporate the singular DNA and easily recognized codes of the historic Parisian house into the new Balmain Eyewear collection. The strong, often audacious, style of the new eyewear collection reflects the assertive and confident spirit of today’s Balmain Army. The many gold touches recall Pierre Balmain’s signature golden medallions and gilded buttons as well as the importance that the rich tone has in every one of the house’s runways. The intricate details and high level of craftsmanship echo that of Balmain’s famed ateliers.
From the very beginning, one of the biggest fans of this new collection has been Balmain’s Creative Director, Olivier Rousteing. In fact, Rousteing upended a year’s worth of planning, when he forced his teams to abandon a carefully planned launch calendar during the presentation of the final prototypes in January. “As soon as I saw them, I was determined to have them immediately,” explains Rousteing. “Although I knew it would cause more than a little bit of chaos, extra work and late nights, I had to have them—and I had to have them now. So, I pressured all the teams to push up the introduction of the glasses, in order to let me incorporate them into Balmain Menswear show in January 2020. The collection aligns so perfectly with my message—they’re the ideal Balmain accessory for my designs. So, there was going to be no questions, no debates—they simply had to be a part of my January runway.”
And Rousteing wasn’t willing to wait for an official launch before integrating the same designs into his own life, either. Just like his familiar DB blazer, jeans and sneakers, this is a Balmain product that seems destined from the beginning to form a part of the designer’s daily fashion uniform. “I’m crazy about the whole line, and I do love all the frames—but there is one particular design that is very much me,” notes Rousteing. “And, the entire team could spot my love for that unique model at each and every stage of the development—which is why they decided to name it ‘Wonder Boy’.“
Named for the prize-winning film about the designer, Rousteing’s favorite style, The Wonder Boy, has of course also been quickly adopted by others in his circle of friends, as many recent celebrity photos have made clear. That same style was also the focus of a recent charity auction, with Balmain and Akoni donating all the frames that had been perched on the noses of the models that walked Balmain’s Paris Fashion Week runway. Every one of those Wonder Boy designs, personally customized by Rousteing himself in order to perfectly coordinate with pieces from the house’s latest collection, helped raise funds to assist The Global Fund, the largest multilateral funder of health systems worldwide, in its work to provide immediate funding to help countries fight COVID-19, mitigate the impact of the pandemic on lifesaving HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs, and prevent fragile health systems from being overwhelmed.
Rejecting today’s fast-fashion formula, Akoni sets itself apart with an unwavering commitment to the highest-level of Japanese craftmanship, as well as a reliance on nothing but the finest of materials. This singular engagement to the most rigorous of quality controls is reflected in the collection’s exceptional design, engineering and perfect fit—and those same essential engagements help explain why each frame can only be produced in very limited quantities. The first edition of the Wonder Boy design, for example, will consist of only 500 units, worldwide, with each frame numbered and registered.
Distributed from Switzerland and priced from 500 to over 1000 Euros, the new Balmain Eyewear Collection by Akoni will be carried at all Balmain boutiques worldwide, as well as at premium optical stores and a select group of the leading luxury retailers. Online purchases are possible at Balmain.com and at leading e-tailers.
As was very clear to all attending Balmain’s most recent men’s and women’s shows, Akoni has managed to skillfully incorporate the singular DNA and easily recognized codes of the historic Parisian house into the new Balmain Eyewear collection. The strong, often audacious, style of the new eyewear collection reflects the assertive and confident spirit of today’s Balmain Army. The many gold touches recall Pierre Balmain’s signature golden medallions and gilded buttons as well as the importance that the rich tone has in every one of the house’s runways. The intricate details and high level of craftsmanship echo that of Balmain’s famed ateliers.
From the very beginning, one of the biggest fans of this new collection has been Balmain’s Creative Director, Olivier Rousteing. In fact, Rousteing upended a year’s worth of planning, when he forced his teams to abandon a carefully planned launch calendar during the presentation of the final prototypes in January. “As soon as I saw them, I was determined to have them immediately,” explains Rousteing. “Although I knew it would cause more than a little bit of chaos, extra work and late nights, I had to have them—and I had to have them now. So, I pressured all the teams to push up the introduction of the glasses, in order to let me incorporate them into Balmain Menswear show in January 2020. The collection aligns so perfectly with my message—they’re the ideal Balmain accessory for my designs. So, there was going to be no questions, no debates—they simply had to be a part of my January runway.”
And Rousteing wasn’t willing to wait for an official launch before integrating the same designs into his own life, either. Just like his familiar DB blazer, jeans and sneakers, this is a Balmain product that seems destined from the beginning to form a part of the designer’s daily fashion uniform. “I’m crazy about the whole line, and I do love all the frames—but there is one particular design that is very much me,” notes Rousteing. “And, the entire team could spot my love for that unique model at each and every stage of the development—which is why they decided to name it ‘Wonder Boy’.“
Named for the prize-winning film about the designer, Rousteing’s favorite style, The Wonder Boy, has of course also been quickly adopted by others in his circle of friends, as many recent celebrity photos have made clear. That same style was also the focus of a recent charity auction, with Balmain and Akoni donating all the frames that had been perched on the noses of the models that walked Balmain’s Paris Fashion Week runway. Every one of those Wonder Boy designs, personally customized by Rousteing himself in order to perfectly coordinate with pieces from the house’s latest collection, helped raise funds to assist The Global Fund, the largest multilateral funder of health systems worldwide, in its work to provide immediate funding to help countries fight COVID-19, mitigate the impact of the pandemic on lifesaving HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs, and prevent fragile health systems from being overwhelmed.
Rejecting today’s fast-fashion formula, Akoni sets itself apart with an unwavering commitment to the highest-level of Japanese craftmanship, as well as a reliance on nothing but the finest of materials. This singular engagement to the most rigorous of quality controls is reflected in the collection’s exceptional design, engineering and perfect fit—and those same essential engagements help explain why each frame can only be produced in very limited quantities. The first edition of the Wonder Boy design, for example, will consist of only 500 units, worldwide, with each frame numbered and registered.
Distributed from Switzerland and priced from 500 to over 1000 Euros, the new Balmain Eyewear Collection by Akoni will be carried at all Balmain boutiques worldwide, as well as at premium optical stores and a select group of the leading luxury retailers. Online purchases are possible at Balmain.com and at leading e-tailers.
Designer:
Balmain
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