Yes, we’re completely skint and it’s freezing cold outside, but the arrival of a new set of spring/summer ad campaigns is helping to ease the January blues. Latest to drop is the colourful, tongue-in-cheek lookbook from New Zealand-based eyewear designer, Karen Walker.
Titled ‘Arrowed by Karen,’ the new collection is a celebration of the arrow motif which has become synonymous with the brand, used across all Karen Walker styles for over a decade. The pastel-hued lookbook sees models playfully posing in Karen’s signature glasses, which have a graphic, Sixties-inspired feel.
Karen is famed for her playful campaigns: she cast Insta-famous canine Toast The Dog in her tenth anniversary campaign, and has previously shot fashionable OAPs and toddlers wearing her frames.
Discussing the inspiration behind the collection, Karen told Grazia: "Our collections are always very graphic. This season we’ve introduced a new hexagonal shape, and enhanced and re-invented our most famous styles. We’ve made the lenses even flatter than ever, added gold framing around the acetates and, of course, have continued to see our arrow on every pair."
But what’s the story behind the arrow?
According to Karen, "it’s been part of the brand’s identity since 2012, so it’s central to the eyewear. It stands for the brand’s optimistic spirit and fearlessness."
Looking ahead to the coming season, Karen reckons you should be investing in strong, graphic shapes, as "timid and generic doesn’t have a chance."
Too right.