Love it: Specsavers launches exclusive ELLERY eyewear collection

Specsavers has again delivered on its commitment of making high-end fashion accessible to everyone, announcing a new collaboration with luxury womenswear brand ELLERY. Exclusive to Specsavers and available in stores nationwide RIGHT NOW (!), the collection includes 14 optical glasses and six prescription sunglasses. The campaign is fronted by iconic supermodel Gemma Ward (see below) and it is goddamn gorgeous.

For those not so familiar with the brand, Perth-born designer Kym Ellery (above), 33 started out in the industry in 2007, and has gone on to do major things. Ellery has turned her brand into an exclusive label known for its exceptional cut, innovative use of textiles and signature billowing silhouettes, and she is only the third Australian label in a century to be granted official recognition by the Federation Francaise de la Couture du Pret-a-Porter des Couturiers et des Createurs de Mode – the body that controls Paris Fashion Week. The Federation has previously invited only two Australians onto its official schedule, Collette Dinnigan and the Paris-based Martin Grant. 

Celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian West, Cate Blanchett, Chrissy Teigen, Rihanna and Solange Knowles to name but a few, are also lapping up her treasured designs, and she recently established a base in the French capital as well as at home in Australia.

Fierce, fabulous and definitely fun, Kym told Elle Australia of the new partnership with Specsavers, “ it was about working with Specsavers to create a collection of eyewear that would both embody the Ellery DNA and be really well-received by the Specsavers clientele. Eyewear is such an important part of personal style - it’s the only item you wear on your face, so you want it to be really well-suited and well made”.
That was abundantly clear at an intimate dinner held last night at an Auckland CBD loft-style space, where the designer introduced the range and then regaled the room with anecdotes about its inception. Guests were invited to try on the collection, and I didn’t see one person who didn’t find the perfect pair. Several styles are even unisex, so the men in the room were more than happy to get amongst it all as well.

The range features strong, architectural silhouettes that are both dynamic and innovative. With an eye for aesthetics, the ELLERY collection expresses a sophisticated signature style, brought to life through an exploration of exaggerated shapes and rich textures. The collection has been designed for the wearer looking for masterful design, quality and unexpected details.

The fresh wearable styles with a retro edge include; playful twists on the modern cat’s eye, graphic oversized square and round shapes. A gold eye insignia, set with a crystal stone can be found on every frame and each pair of ELLERY glasses is branded with a gold foil logo.

A colour palette of black, marbled charcoal, tortoiseshell, cobalt blue, bottle green, gold and brushed gold was chosen to offer the wearer a selection of classic, yet modern and avant-garde glasses to complement and enhance their individual style.

Kym said designing the new range presented an opportunity to explore the sartorial role that eyewear plays in the style of its wearer. “For me eyewear is a crucial part of personal style and I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to create a collection of frames with Specsavers. When designing, I focus on creating modern classics for intelligent women and this eyewear collection is no exception.”

 “For the range, I was inspired by cinematic personas throughout the decades. I looked at archetypal roles such as Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, Susan Sarandon in Thelma and Louise and of course, Woody Allen as himself, Woody Allen. The aesthetic of the ELLERY collections is to combine masculine with feminine, and the ELLERY eyewear collection is a natural extension of this,” said Kym.

From Specsavers’ perspective, Head of Frames at Specsavers, Juan Carlos Camargo nailed it when he said: “There is no other item which is as immediately noticed or as frequently worn, so giving people the choice of beautifully-designed, genuinely cutting-edge eyewear is an exciting and important part of what we do.”

Thanks to Specsavers’ affordability my own wardrobe of frames has expanded exponentially (my lenses have to be custom made so cost a bomb on their own), and this range is at the amazing pricepoint of $299-$369.

The range is in store now at Specsavers stores across New Zealand

For more information, visit specsavers.co.nz/ELLERY.