The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2020 - Issue 27

bite accessories Detour magazine called him, “a gifted talent, blessed with a savvy and unmis- takable sense of style.” He was also re- cently named by Brilliant Magazine as one of the “100 Most Important People in the Eyewear Industry.” Blake is humbled enough to say that his brand was started as a project driv- en by aesthetics and selfishness. “It was done to fulfil my own design needs and that of my circle that lives in a very visual world: artists, filmmakers, archi- tects, fashionistas, and designers of all sorts.” He realised he had created something unique when a photogra- pher friend mentioned at dinner one night she could not find the right glass- es to suit her look and preferred a pair like the one Blake was wearing at the time. It was from this conversation that gave him the inspiration and proverbial push to launch his signature brand which he describes as a “collection of frames that are a mashup of my colliding aesthetics with special at- tention paid to sculpting and tactility.” Artful but wearable, Blake Kuwahara eyewear is created using laborious production techniques and a lot of handiwork, with an inner silhouette that is encased in unexpectedly outer shape. “This seamless fusion of two frames and the juxtaposition of contrasting form and colour create a design ten- sion that is thoroughly modern yet comfortably familiar,” says the de- signer. With an extensive range of styles and colour, Blake Kuwahara’s eyewear is both exciting and intrigu- ing. The Grey Label collection com- poses of four models in three colours available in eyeglasses or sunglass- es reflecting the know-how of the brand and designer. His latest models include Palmer which takes its design inspiration from the ski slopes of the ‘70s and features a downward sweeping avia- tor-like silhouette. The frame in Hick- ory, Midnight, and Snow has the front of the sunglasses made by using the signature and proprietary laminat- ed construction where two distinctly made frames are laminated together to create a ‘frame-within-a-frame’. The metal temples accent and accen- tuate the acetate front. Skidmore features a large aviator shape lens surrounded by frames in Black, Gold, and Silver that is con- structed using one sheet of hypoal- lergenic surgical stainless steel. “The negative space created by the lines of the eye rim becomes a design element unto itself,” explained the designer. The same frame-within-a- frame construction is used in Stan- ton which is created using one sheet of hypoallergenic surgical stainless steel. This style is available in An- tique Pewter, Gold, Gunmetal, and Matte Black. Bringing a new shape to the season in the form of the diamond, Quincy in Burl, Sangria, Shale, and White Gran- ite is a girl’s best friend. In this style, the front surface is hand-brushed to accentuate the frame-within-a-frame construction. While Bardi in Brushed Black, Lake, Moss, and Plum has a petite fit with ‘peaks’ along the eye rim giving the face an instant lift. It also has the same construction con- cept that highlights the contrast of the translucent outer frame with a solid inner frame. Emmons perfectly embodies the sig-