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product code : k5411 :
£ 195
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1970s white layer on frosted gold
optyl frame
by CHRISTIAN DIOR MADE IN GERMANY
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Original
photochromic (grey) glass lenses
condition
size
lens spec
other info
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This pair formed part of Dior's Definitions range, released in 1977 -
here it is in ad ad from the New Yorker in April that year, ours is the
pair held by the model, as opposed to the others being worn by
mannequins. This is #2042 - our pair in white on gold while the ad
looks to be a grey shaded optyl. We've talked before on these pages
about the Austrian legend Wilhelm Anger (1926-2014) and his invention
of the material 'Optyl', a cast epoxy resin that revolutionised eyewear -
and about his acquisition of the Christian Dior licence from US company
Tura, in 1966. This piece embodies a European couture story and
relationship between Marc Bohan of Dior and Anger, which seems to
have borne fruit quickly in 1966 in Paris, when Bohan's latest creations
were shown on models also wearing coordinated eyewear and sunglasses
from the Christian Dior collection. His more youthful styles of 1966 sparked
a new period for Bohan at Dior, who by the late 1960s was using the French
plastic rhodoid to decorate dresses, with the usual beading and embroidery.
Perhaps Anger influenced him as it is a cellulose acetate, and their early Dior
eyewear was not Optyl as it had only been invented in 1964, and the factory
took time to produce it in quantity. In 1973 though, we know that Bohan
went to Traun and worked with Anger on a capsule collection in Optyl,
released in 1974. As Bohan had also created the 'CD' monogram, it's
interesting to see how it was then realised in the metal components and as
a decorative feature in Dior's Optyl eyewear. Here it's in gold. Bohan was
the first to appreciate how branding could change couture, especially in
more accessible accessories. His first Optyl designs explored bright colours
and contrast, and three years later here he is using effects - frosting versus
transparency and painted white, grooved lines to define the inner and outer
offset stepped sections of the frame. The lenses are photochromic glass and
react to sunlight, starting at 70% absorption indoors and darkening to about
25% in full sun. The pale grey tint and the neutral colour frame work beautifully
with most outfits - for any day, indoors and out, all-seasons glamour. Bohan led
Dior over three decades,
and here in 1977 is one of his entire looks, including
sunglasses - remember his work inspired and seduced such beauties and
eyewear icons like Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Princess Grace of Monaco
and Jacqueline Kennedy.
— klasik
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