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DESIGNERS
 
Alyson Magee's
creative career is marked by eyewear.
And rate decreed it should take place in Paris, where she started working
fifteen years ago and still lives, as a creator, businesswoman, wife and mother.
She started out in 1986 in Alain Mickli's designer team. After rive years
which she retails as fantastic, "in those days it was perhaps easier than today,
because there was less competition and more room for creation. Working with
Alain was the best school", Alyson then decided to go
back to London, where she worked for a year before returning to Paris, again
with French terms in the eyewear business.
The great breakthrough came in 1995, when she started to create and sign a
product ail of her own. It was a logical step in a designer's career, but it
happens to few. With Pascal Jaulent and Nadine Roth she started on the adventure
of Face ā Face eyewear. Three friends, three partners, three different
competences: theirs is one of those brilliant set-ups based on the awareness
that eyewear is a design object just like the furniture, household goods and
products with which active metropolitans, attracted by their contemporary style,
love to surround themselves.
Face ā Face is Alyson Magee's collection, and
she does not trust in the fleetingness of fashions but in a superior concept of
design. What inspires this design? The question embarrasses her, because the
real answer, perhaps, is that everything seems to stem from her inner search,
which is difficult to talk about. Magee has a calm way of dealing with
questions, whether she is talking about her lire or showing any of her eyewear
models, inviting us to discover its details.
In her hands the frame becomes a unique item and we forget that these are
mass-produced objects.
"I like to think of a person discovering the details little by little, as
they wear them or lay them on the table, they notice the way the temple juts out
or that hollow near the lenses they had not seen before. "The presence of the
detail, concealed or highlighted by the colour or by irregularities in the
material, is the emblem of a design which is not constructed on eccentricity but
draws its strength from the concrete form of the balanced, but avant-garde lines
We need only think of the courageous colour choices - such as yellow - and the
original mixes of materials to see how Alyson Magee, confident in her
experience, deals with the originality and creative detail which lead her to
experiment with ever new ideas.
E&F 11
Face ā FaCE
OFFICIAL SITE
 VIDEO
Alyson Magee and
official site
The arrival, of Alyson Magee's eyewear collection, created in
collaboration with Mikli Studio, which launches worldwide at Silmo, is the
realisation of more than two years of research, expectation and speculation.
Written by Joan Grady
ALyson Magee is the talented Irish lass with a delicate lilt in her voice and
quiet determination, who built an international reputation as the Creative
Director at Face ä Face. She co-founded the company with two partners in 1995,
during which time the firm won several awards including a Silmo d'Or. She is
still a shareholder in the company and says of her time spent there, "l'm very
proud of what I accomplished at Face ä Face, it was an exciting time, but I felt
it was the moment to move on. I am always reassessing everything - my life, my
work, the future. When I thought about leaving Face ä Face, I realised hat I was
at a point where I could not go back and start from scratch, working totally on
my own; yet I wanted to take everything that I had experienced and find a
different challenge."
The timing was perfect. Alain Mikli, the innovative Paris- based eyewear creator
who has been shaking up the optical world for over 25 years, was looking to
expand his business by launching Mikli Studio, a platform for exceptional
talents. Alyson Magee is the first to be part of this prestigious group of
designers.
Eyewear education
Her talents were not unknown to Mikli. In fact, Alyson's first job in eyewear
was with Mikli from 1986 to 1991. By coincidence, they share the same initials
and the same passions the continual quest for perfection, attention to detail
and a desire for the ultimate in quality. Alyson studied jewellery design at the
Royal College of Art in London. When it came to the course project, she wanted
to do spectacles. "This was 1986 and back then, eyewear was not treated as true
design," she recalls. "The school didn't want me to do eyewear even though it
really appealed to me, but I was stubborn and persisted. I approached
Anglo-American Eyewear (then based in Hampstead) and they introduced me to the
world of eyewear."
For Alyson, this was literally an eye-opener. Her training at Anglo-American
convinced her that spectacle design was her métier after receiving her Masters
in jewellery from the RCA.
She then considered whether she should stay in England or expand her horizons.
Alain Mikli's reputation as an eyewear innovator intrigued her and she
telephoned him. Alain offered her a job and she says, "This is where I really
learnt about eyewear and how expansive it could be. Working with Alain was like
a second school." However, after five years with Mikli, Alyson was re-assessing.
"Was Paris really where I wanted to be? I had never worked in the UK and I
wanted to have that opportunity." She decided to return to England and worked
for Anglo-American where she had originally trained. But after one year in
England, she realised she was homesick for Paris and a French boyfriend (now her
husband) and she decided that France was where she wanted to settle
professionally and personally.
New directions, new inspirations
After the return to Paris and a brief stint at a French optical company came the
creation of Face ā Face. After eight years with the company, her re-assessment
questions surfaced once again and the result is a new chapter that fulfils her
desire for challenge and creativity. "it has taken a long time to develop this
collection," reflects Alyson. "Alain is a perfectionist and so am I, and we
wanted to do lots of research, to create a series of prototypes, and to work
with several factories, before making our final selections and decisions. I am
so fortunate to have Mikli's resources available to me, including the
distribution, marketing, sales staff and communications."
The debut collection will feature approximately 45 designs for men and women,
including ophthalmic frames and sunglasses. The collection will be produced
through the network of Mikli manufacturers. Each frame expresses the passion,
quality, detail and creativity that have been the hallmarks of Mikli's
philosophy, and that are typical of Alyson's approach as well. Meticulous
attention is given to each frame so that fit, form, fashion and function al[
blend harmoniously - the approach is more art than optics.
The marketing of the collection is unique to eyewear. The frames are sold under
Mikli Distribution with prospective customers invited to view the range in
Mikli's international showrooms, rather than sending out teams of sales
representatives for visits to shops. The concept is similar to that of couture
collections and signals a welcome return to more emphasis on customer contact.
Alyson will visit optical shops herself; she will present trunk shows and have
the opportunity to meet customers on a one-to-one basis. "This is a new concept
in eyewear, and I am definitely looking forward to being in the shops and
meeting customers. I also feel that it is important for the wearer to know that
a person exists behind the label."
The mood of the collection is based on Alyson's love and enthusiasm for
architecture with sophisticated, modern shapes. "Architecture is so much a part
of me," says Alyson. "I am influenced by travel, different coiffures, my native
Ireland, everything Japanese, including the food and its presentation, and Yohji
Yamamoto is my favourite fashion designer."
Another influence is Alyson's love of acetate and colour "Acetate brings out the
best in colour, contrast, texture and sculpture of the frames," she says. "Green
is my favourite colour - I love it! -l have always been around it. Green is
Ireland, nature, vitality, food, drinks, clothing and now I have a green
business logo and green eyewear!" "The colour palette of the eyewear range is
limited," she continues, "because I didn't want to be all over the place. There
is an unusual green, a red group, beige, caramel and black that is contrasted
with vivid yellow and other bright variations. "The range includes models in
aluminium, stainless steel and sleek combinations of these materials. This
eagerly awaited collection is the reflection of two dynamic talents with Mikli
and Magee bringing to the optical world a refreshing, exciting collaboration of
creative exploration and expression.
20/20 10/2005
Orders Through
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French
