6 posts tagged "Tenoversix"
Jason Schwartzman, Multi-Talent
In an era of celebrity designers, it’s the rare actor who can admit his few, occasional limitations. “It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be to design sunglasses,” Jason Schwartzman says. “My initial versions were a little Hollywood—like, Mannequin. I had to simplify them.”
But when Lookmatic, the online optical site offering bargain rates on frames-and-prescription combos, came knocking, the actor and musician pledged to create his own frames and made good with a pair—available in optical and sun versions—on sale now. (Lookmatic’s founder, Joe Cole, co-owns the L.A. boutique Tenoversix with his wife, Kristen Lee, and Schwartzman’s wife, Brady Cunningham.) The actor and musician started with a vintage pair that came from a family heirloom of sorts: a pair worn by his new frame’s namesake, Uncle Leonard, his father’s brother. Apparently Uncle Leonard spotted a pair of thick-framed black glasses at his nephew’s house one day and remembered that he had a similar pair as a medical student in the 1950s. “On my birthday, I opened the mail and there was an old glasses case and these glasses,” Schwartzman recalled. They became the inspiration and the blueprint for his new frames. “I love all kinds of glasses, and of course I love the John Lennon little wire ones,” he goes on, “but I am taking my glasses on and off a lot; I’ve always said in my personal life that I need something a little less fragile.” With a few tweaks for shape and for weight (“his feel like they’re made out of iron—they were borderline bulletproof”), his new style was born. They’re only the first of a forthcoming series of Lookmatic collaborations. The Tenoversix team designed a frame, too, and collaborative pieces are on their way from Waris Ahluwalia, Loeffler Randall co-founder Jessie Loeffler, and Aubrey Plaza.
The original Uncle Leonards—circa 1958—are still with Schwartzman, though, he says, “the prescription is very powerful; you can’t actually look through them.” That would suggest that Uncle Leonard himself might want to avail himself of a pair of the new ones, but they’ll likely be prescription-free. “I think by this point he’s had Lasik surgery.”
Uncle Leonard frames, $130, are available now at Lookmatic.com.
Karen’s Candy Bar
Just to make sure you’ve got plenty of eye candy this summer, Karen Walker is serving it up in multiple flavors around the globe. Tomorrow, the designer opens her Candy Bar pop-up shop at Restir in Japan, filled with her new limited-edition collection of sunnies (in extra-sweet shades like toffee, vanilla, bubble gum, and strawberry) and her current Spring/Summer offerings. The Candy Shop will be making its way around the world over the next year, including stops at TenOverSix in L.A. (May 25 through June 22) and Cloak & Dagger in New York (June 29 through July 13). Here, Style.com has an exclusive first look at the pop-up and the sunglasses ($220 each).
A Jewelry Label With Spine
Cole Morrall and Natalie Mauro’s design partnership was born out of a shared affection for the bizarre. “We were introduced by a friend in L.A. who thought we would get along really well—Nat was reading a book on serial killers and Cole was reading a book on decomposing bodies,” the women behind the Bones and Feathers Collective jewelry label tells Style.com. “It was kind of a creepy love at first creative sight.”
The results of their collaborative efforts are a perfect reflection of their joint penchant for creepy. However, it was their side project creating floral headpieces that first caught people’s attention. (Kate Bosworth wore one to Coachella in 2010 and after that, they caught on like wildfire.) “We don’t really advertise the flower headpieces anymore, but we are beyond happy to make them for people that contact us directly,” says Morrall. “People still reach out to us to make them for photo shoots, birthdays, weddings, and of course, Coachella.” They have since returned their focus to creating their men’s and women’s line of snake vertebrae (no, not real vertebrae, just metal casts of them) bracelets, rings, and earrings, which is already stocked (and selling well, we’re told) in small quantities at Tenoversix in L.A. and Reformation (in the New York and L.A. locations). Of their 50-plus-piece Fall collection, the pair, neither of which has a formal fashion background (Natalie majored in visual arts in college and interned at Nicole Miller and Marked Showroom, while Cole studied dance and anthropology), explains, “We were really inspired by classic men’s accessories, androgynous women, Hitchcock heroines, and Georgia O’Keeffe post-1929.” Their take on those inspirations is a series of fox bolo ties, single snake vertebra and suede bracelets, and snake vertebrae collar clips—all the offerings come in an array of gold, pewter, and brass metal, combined with suede and leather. The fox double-knuckle ring and the weighty multi-vertebrae necklace (pictured, left) are both standouts, but many of the smaller, single-vertebra pieces make for great stacking and layering. As for what’s next, they are exploring collaborations with L.A. brands and working to expand the men’s side of the brand.
What’s Up? L.A.
“It’s inspired by that winsome time period in your life that she just captured so well,” Wren designer Melissa Coker said last night of What’s Up?, the short film by Gia Coppola presenting her Spring ’12 collection (and Fallon jewelry collaboration). “Everything from the way Gia captured light to the performances was so inspiring.” The film made its official debut during New York fashion week in September, but last night, Coker and Coppola set up shop at Kristen Lee and Brady Cunningham’s West Hollywood boutique Tenoversix, where they were joined by the likes of Clémence Poésy, Nora Zehetner, Allison Miller, and Fashiontoast’s Rumi Neely, for the film’s coming-home party of sorts.
To tell her story, Coppola—along with Lula‘s Leith Clark as stylist and creative director—chose a teenage protagonist and set her against a languid Los Angeles afternoon haze. Filmed on location at Coppola’s mother’s house during what Angelenos affectionately dubbed “Carmageddon,” the movie shoot faced its challenges when the city effectually shut down as the famed 405 freeway was closed for repairs. It was that isolation that rang true for Coppola’s heroine, 16-year-old Bella Zarember. “We were at my mom’s house with the freeway in the foreground and we just felt stuck. The feeling of that weekend began to really shape the project,” she told Style.com before the screening. Equally influential was Coppola’s own southern California upbringing. “Just being back in my room,” she recalled of the experience, “it reminds you of that feeling of not being able to drive and just feeling confined.” Cue the signature Coppola take on teen angst—an unlikely but fitting backdrop for Coker’s playful Spring collection.
Anglomania Delivered (By Way Of L.A.)
Echt English designs, bought in L.A., shipped to wherever, Dubuque to Detroit: another victory for the age of the Internet. It’s getting easier every day to get the product you want wherever you may be, and today is no exception. Kristen Lee and Brady Cunningham’s path-breaking Los Angeles boutique, TenOverSix, is the latest to join Farfetch.com, which ships the best of their stock all over. That means Vivienne Westwood’s grungy-cool Anglomania totes (pictured), not to mention bags by New York’s Alexander Wang, vintage-style swimsuits from Australia’s Lover, jewelry by L.A.’s Made Her Think, and more. The world is flat, and getting flatter—bully!
Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Grafitti tote, $261, and Teddy Bear tote, $266, available at www.farfetch.com.