Quay & None The Wiser _ Interview with Linda Hammond

Linda Hammond è la designer di Quay e Non The Wiser, due brand di occhiali australiani che stanno spopolando e che hanno stravolto la concezione del classico occhiale posizionandolo all'interno dei fashion store invece che dagli ottici. La designer, con cui ho avuto la possibilità di scambiare una breve intervista tramite email, ha collaborato e disegnato appositamente alcuni modelli per la cantante Lady Gaga, e con il successo ottenuto, Quay è diventato un fenomeno mondiale; a questa collezione si affianca NTW con una serie di modelli in bamboo dalla fattura pregiata per differenziare il mercato e creare un occhiale d'elitè.

How, when and, first of all, why the name “Quay”?

Quay is inspired by our love of the water, those weekend adventues to the coast, soaking up the sunlight.

The crazy idea of creating a low-cost eyewear has been winning and then thedistribution in fashion stores has come by itself. Which is the winning key and the store where Quay entered that satisfy you more?

I think there is no real secret to our success. We love what we do, and love, live & breathe our product.  We have been overwhelmed that Australians have embraced Quay as an extension of their style especially because so many of the designs are inspired by the Australian lifestyle. A really exciting time for us what being able to introduce our product to stores internationally, the US market is so dominant  and to know that our American clients love our style is very humbling.

In every season Quay models are different, avant-garde and innovative but also eternal revisited classics for colors and materials. What do you ispire? And how do the model born?

Our designs are primarily inspired by what we would love to wear and of course dictated by our lifestyle.  Like i'm sure most of you, we use fashion and accessories to mimic our mood, so by having a  combination of crazy and classic designs, we will never have to be without a pair of our favourite  sunnies.

Lady Gaga wears Quay in her videos and concerts, how did the collaboration born? Are some models designed only for the singer?

It is very exciting and humbling every time we see our product on a celebrity. Someone such as Lady  Gaga, who is renowned for her crazy style is no exception. It was her choice to rock our shades and just shows her individuality when it comes to fashion and style.

Recently NTW, None The Wiser, born and it belongs to a superior market sector with fashion models created by bamboo, so very light. How does this brand born and which is its style?

None the Wiser occupies a different space in the market to Quay. It began as an outlet for us to be able to experiment with different materials and a more vintage approach to design. This is something that wouldn't have been possible at a lower price point. We wanted to experiment with different materials and loved that Bamboo is a much more sustainable product. It grows at a much faster rate than wood and is a positive step towards trying to reduce deforestation, plus, we think the natural grain looks amazing!

Quayeyeware.com.au
Nonethewisereyewear.com