How We Designed The Range
At Monc we go through a rigorous creative process when designing anything, and naturally we applied the same approach when deciding on each look. We’ve aimed to pair classic vintage styles with modern design thinking to build a selection of frames that are inspired by real creatives, and which suit the variety of face shapes around the world. We want to bring a more individual and exciting selection of eyewear for people that really care about true design, craftsmanship and quality. Each frame represents an evolving fashion & design district from the most forward thinking and creative cities around the world. The styles take a piece of inspiration from these districts, and reflect the local values of true craft and design.
Traditionally they say that there are around 6 basic face shapes that you can categorise people into - Oval, Square, Heart, Round, Diamond & Rectangle - and that there’s a style of frame that will suit each one. So we used these basic shapes to create a wide range of concepts, to suit both men and women of all face shapes and sizes. What we discovered from exploring and conceptualising over a hundred styles is that there are lots of frames that can suit many different face shapes. The face shape system is a loose guide, but we think that if you like the look of a pair of sunglasses, and they suit you and make you feel confident - then you should wear them.
We love the classic style of pure acetate frames, so for our first 3 designs – Kallio, Gracia and Södermalm - we took the frames back to basics. Creating round, square and triangular shaped designs meant that for these more basic styles we could bring a great variety to both face and person. Through repeated development of shape, and inspiration from the classic & vintage frames of the 40s, 50s and 60s, we eventually curated 3 frames that we are really happy with.
For the other two shapes we wanted to be more influenced by the combination of metal and acetate to create frames that are more adventurous and complex. Aviators have been hugely popular since the 1930s, first with pilots, and then they became a huge fashion icon in Film and TV. Since then they’ve tended to have a very generalist shape, so we thought it needed a re-design. We took inspiration and edge from the bohemian culture of Kreuzberg, and blended it into a really striking aviator style frame that anyone can feel bold wearing.
And last, and by no means least is our London Fields frame. For this we wanted to really show the intense skill of the artisans within our factory, by creating a combination frame that screams retro. With a hooked temple, designed to prevent this frame from slipping off your face, these are built for the vibrant and on-the-go person, who likes to take life by the scruff of the neck. It’s a John Lennon style design that will be forever timeless, but we have revamped it with touches of inspiration from the fast pace design culture of East London.
These frames are a true variety of what we believe in as Moncs. A devised, designed and developed range of eyewear that we want anyone to be proud of and feel confident wearing, and hopefully be passionate to talk about and share with others.
