Elizabeth Faraut, who created the LA Loop—dubbed ‘the Original Necklace for Eyewear’—21 years ago, launches a new product that’s very much of our times: the LA Mask, a functional way to make sure people remember their masks when heading out during these times, when COVID-19 remains very much a health issue in so many countries.
Working on a similar principle to the LA Loop, which became a simple, elegant and practical way to keep your eyewear around your neck, LA Mask allows wearers to hang their personal health masks the same way.
Faraut was inspired to create LA Mask when going shopping, finding, as many have, that it was too easy to leave one’s mask behind. ‘As shelter-at-home became the new normal, it didn’t take me long to figure out that going grocery shopping early on Sunday morning was the way to go. And while I may have realized the best times to shop, there were snags along the way: when I would arrive at the market and realized I had forgotten my mask, creating LA Mask was a necessity,’ she said. ‘While easy, no-fuss, minimal–practical has been my mantra since founding LA Loop, LA Mask is a game changer in our ever-changing world.’
Faraut offers the LA Mask with or without a mask. The mask hangs against the chest. Without it, LA Mask becomes an elegant necklace, or it could be worn as a bracelet.
LA Mask is hand-made in Los Angeles. The masks sold with it use vintage fabrics, and all are pre-washed. The Classic collection masks are 100 per cent cotton blend.
For June and July sales, LA Mask will donate a portion of the proceeds to Downtown Women’s Center (DWC), focused on serving and empowering homelessness and formerly homeless women.
LA Mask is available via LA Loop’s website, www.laloop.com, and at international retailers.
The six designs, in order: Halpern, Julien Macdonald, Liam Hodges, Mulberry, Raeburn, and Rixo.
In another sign of the times, the British Fashion Council and Bags of Ethics have launched a campaign dubbed Great British Designer Face Coverings: Reusable, for People and Planet, to manufacture and retail sustainable and reusable non-medical face coverings designed by Halpern, Julien Macdonald, Liam Hodges, Mulberry, Raeburn, and Rixo.
The project aims to raise £1 million, with all profits going to charity, split between NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal, BFC Foundation Fashion Fund, and Wings of Hope Children’s Charity.
Bags of Ethics’ partner factories will manufacture the coverings. A pack of three, with two protective pouches, will retail for £15. They will be sold through the BFC website at britishfashioncouncil.com and partner retailers including ASOS, Boots, John Lewis & Partners, and Sainsbury’s (in Tu Clothing sections in selected superstores, convenience stores and online at tu.co.uk and argos.co.uk).
Caroline Rush, the BFC’s chief executive, said in a release, ‘Fashion is a unifying force and now, more than ever, it is essential that we collaborate and come together to support each other through difficult times. Our ambition is to contribute to the fight against COVID-19, while protecting vital PPE supplies reserved for the NHS. Through this project, we will not only celebrate British designers but also champion sustainability in a time of crisis.’
Dr R. Sri Ram, chairman, Bags of Ethics added, ‘We have always been at the forefront of supporting the public through mass behavioural changes in positive and useful ways. Since the early 2000s we helped supermarkets, and retailers reduce their single-use plastic bag consumption by five-plus billion units through sustainable and reusable bags. A new challenge arises with the coronavirus pandemic. Our aim is to manufacture high-quality reusable non-medical face coverings for the public which reduces stigma through great British design, in line with advice from our scientific community, whilst having a positive effect on both people and planet.’
Money raised for the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund will support the next round of funding for designer businesses. The BFC has already distributed £1 million of emergency funding to 37 designers as its first round to help the industry during the COVID-19 crisis.
Hublot, an LVMH subsidiary that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has showcased its new Big Bang E (officially styled as BIG BANG e) watch, following up from the original Big Bang of 2005 and its first connected version in 2018.
The Swiss luxury brand’s latest offering has a black ceramic or titanium case in a “sandwich” construction, comprising 42 components, 27 for the K Module case. The hour numerals are metallized under the sapphire crystal, which is covered with an AMOLED high-definition touchscreen. Pushing down on the crown activates the controls. In addition to the analogue watch function, there is a perpetual calendar with a moon phase or a second time zone. The watch is water resistant to 30 m.
Powered by Google Wear OS, users can download additional apps on Google Play. It also connects to Google Assistant and Google Pay.
As part of its launch, and as part of the #HublotLovesArt movement, the first edition will show eight dials created by artist Marc Ferrero. Every three hours, the dial changes colour. On each full hour, a five-second animation plays. These are shown in the video below.
‘Electronic watches were created in Switzerland using quartz in the 1970s. Fifty years later, we are continuing in the same innovative vein by producing a second smartwatch which boasts an extremely high level of technological sophistication, whilst embodying all the æsthetic values, technical features and excellence that have ensured the reputation of our Big Bang collection. Ever more faithful to our “Art of Fusion” motto, we wanted the Big Bang E to unite Hublot’s highly advanced technical materials with the very latest innovations from today’s digital world,’ said Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot.
Hublot will make the Big Bang E available on its website and on China’s Wechat network, before it becomes available in boutiques and the traditional retail network.
FGX International, part of Essilor International, the French optics’ company, has launched the Sofia Vergara × Foster Grant range of reading glasses, sunglasses and SunReaders for outdoor reading.
In addition, Vergara and the Foster Grant brand have announced a Specs for Specs charity initiative, where the company will donate one pair of reading glasses to RestoringVision, the world’s largest non-profit provider of reading glasses to people living in impoverished communities around the world, for every pair of Sofia Vergara × Foster Grant eyewear sold.
Some 2,700 million people lived with uncorrected vision, and 1,000 million need reading glasses to correct their vision. Since 2008, FGX has donated over 11 million pairs to RestoringVision to help this cause.
The Sofia Vergara × Foster Grant range is keenly priced between US$31 and US$41, and is available at fostergrant.com/sofia-vergara-foster-grant, www.readers.com, and www.walmart.com. The range, curated by Vergara, comprises 24 styles in fashionable colours.
Vergara collaborated with Foster Grant creative director and senior vice-president of product development, Matthew Coon. The reading glasses feature a range of magnifications for both traditional readers, and advanced lenses with a blue light coating. The SunReaders are available with a full magnification lens or a hidden bifocal style. All sunglasses and SunReaders have 100 per cent UVA–UVB lens protection.
‘I have loved creating my eyewear collection with Foster Grant. Not only does the brand have such a rich heritage and solid commitment to giving back to those in need, but they were fun to work with while bringing my ideas to life,’ said Vergara in a release. ‘I wear readers myself, and now that I am home reading so much more, I know how important they are to so many of us. I also know a woman wants to feel good when wearing them, wherever she is. I wanted to offer fashionable, chic, fresh eyewear styles, allowing women to not just to see, but to see beautifully.’
‘Teaming up with Sofia Vergara will allow us to shine a new, bright light on a significant global health issue, only exasperated through these current challenging times that as a company, we’re committed to solving,’ said Lisa Lord, FGX’s vice-president of licensing. ‘Sofia’s collection of Foster Grant eyewear gives our customers a stylish assortment at such accessible prices, with the added bonus of knowing you’re giving back with every pair purchased. We’re thrilled and thankful to partner with Sofia on this incredible endeavour, and hope her collection inspires fun and fashion, as well as very real solutions for global needs right now.’
In Italy, where COVID-19 has had a massive impact on daily life, Design Italian Shoes (DIS), a start-up specializing in fully customizable, Italian-made footwear, has innovated with an app that scans your feet to allow them to create made-to-measure shoes. And in the spirit of the times, DIS says it will make its technology open to other manufacturers and retailers.
Presently, the app is only available for IOS.
Users only need their Iphone and an A4 sheet, taking three photos of each foot. The technology takes care of the rest.
DIS says the app is the last piece of the puzzle to create a fully digital process where one can get measured, then configure and order the shoes. Only when the ordering process is completed are the data sent to their artisans, who begin making the shoes.
By not having stock and semi-finished products, Andrea Carpineti, CEO of DIS, says there is a 30 per cent reduction in carbon emissions in the production process.
The company claims a 10-day turnaround.
DIS CIO Michele Luconi adds, ‘We have developed two different algorithms. The first carries out the mathematical reconstruction of the user’s foot through photos. The second—it’s the only one on the market—matches the user’s foot with the DIS shoe models, thus recommending the exact size to purchase for each specific model.’
To make the perfect made-to-measure shoe, the app takes 26 measurements of each foot, considerably more than existing apps, says the company.
Francesco Inguscio, CEO of Nuvolab, which has supported DIS, says, ‘This is the best way in which Italian industrial districts can respond to the deep crisis we are going through: by sharing start-ups’ innovations and the know-how of our SMEs to evolve together and thrive in a totally different future from what we had imagined.’
Above, from top: The founders of DIS. A retail corner showcasing DIS products.
In another sign of the times, the British Fashion Council and 
