A Brand Is Born

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Sunglass designer Blake Kuwahara dishes on the style ideas and fashion cues that play into the sunglass brands he creates.

When fashion sunglasses hit it big, they often are associated with a famous name or brand . Brands are hot tickets for consumers, pulling in plenty of buying power. That’s because a brand is a relationship, an image, or a level of quality that a consumer can relate to. The best brands are consistent and yet always fresh. Brands help a wearer know what to expect from the sunglass product, whether it be high fashion, top-notch performance, or a little bit of both.

So how are branded sunglasses developed? Celebrated sunglass designer Blake Kuwahara creates styles for Carolina Herrera and John Varvatos Eyewear, two collections that are part of Base Curve Eyewear. Kuwaharas shared his secrets for creating brand -savvy sunwear.

1. Begin with a vision
It’s critical that the apparel collection has a distinctive point of view, both from a design perspective and demographically. Without it, there is no foundation upon which to build.

2. Collect Ideas
The designer and I collect tear sheets, samples, and anything that would be inspiration for the eyewear. I look for finishes, textures, and materials. During my first meeting with John Varvatos we both ended up bringing the same things! Old silver spoons, belt buckles, hand tools, leather goods. When that happens, you know you’re on the same page.

3. Get to Sketching
Next, I work on sketches and develop designs which incorporate all of the elements we discussed. The designs on paper are reviewed and modified as necessary. Once the drawings are finalized, we go to the prototyping stage which usually takes a month or so.

4. Wrap it Up
When we have a 3-dimensional prototype, we work on refining the engineering and the fitting characteristics. We then begin the tooling process, which can take 3 months or so. A color palate is developed in advanced, so once we have the tooled samples, the factories execute the colors based on our specifications. With all of the color samples for all of the styles in hand, we merchandise the line again to make our final edits.

Build a Brand Presence
Consumers are accustomed to walking into a department store or specialty boutique and finding brands fully merchandised. Sunglass retailers need to do the same thing. Don’t just offer a few pieces from the collection; try to represent the full breadth of the line. You may also consider reducing the number of brands you carry, while increasing the number of styles you have for each brand.

Related pages & posts: Consumers Should Beware of Non-Authorized Eyewear Dealers, Show Off Your Eyewear in Photos & Video, Iconic Sunglasses: From Fame to Main, Sunglasses & Contact Lenses Go Together.

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