Then we can say that your father made a significant contribution to your sense of style…
From a visual point of view, old photos of my family from the 1930s to the 1950s still excite me today. Based on their stylish outfits and the shape of the glasses, I can say that they were simply stylish. Based on these vintage photos, I started to create my own design sketches. On top of that, I was fascinated by the classic frame material cotton acetate and its fantastic properties. From my love for experimentation and the idea of integrating natural materials while preserving their wonderful colors forever, I created the ‘Colours of Nature’ collection.

We know that you and your husband Dieter work together to develop the Funkeyewear collections. Could you tell us a bit about your production workshop in the Bavarian countryside?
During our rebellious years in the nineties and early 2000s, we lived together in the heart of Munich. But in 2000, we felt the desire to make an uncompromisingly radical return to eyewear design with our own production facility. So moving to our new headquarters in the small town of Kinsau was a big change for the better. We finally have enough space to prepare all of our eyewear and to create our creative ideas. We also work with the best eyewear manufacturers and technicians in our workshop.

You also run a ‘transparent workshop’ in your center, open to the public. Do a lot of opticians stop by to witness the production?
Absolutely. And it’s not just our transparent workshop, the Funk Optical Store in Berlin Mitte also produces its own glasses. Here in Kinsau, there are a lot of people who learn how elaborate the production process really is through organized guided tours.

What are the main advantages of having your own production workshop?
First of all, I would say the ability to test new designs very quickly. Also the complete independence from external manufacturers is a big advantage for us. Because we have full control over the types of models we want to prioritize for finalization and shipment.

You have developed your own eponymous brand, Sashee Schuster, aimed specifically at female users. When and how did you establish the brand?
The Sashee Schuster brand has been presenting its collections for almost fifteen years. The motivation and support of my husband Dieter and the need to develop a brand of my own was the driving force behind the founding of Sashee Schuster. I was very lucky when I started my brand because I had the know-how and assurance of a strong team by my side.

What distinguishes your own designs from Dieter Funk eyewear?
I would say the clarity and simplicity of the designs. This is actually something Dieter and I have in common. But still, my collection is quite feminine while Dieter’s is quite masculine. So I would say we have a good harmony.

Do you both work independently on your own brands or is there some kind of brand building that happens hand-in-hand for both labels?
Each brand does its own photo shoots, lookbooks and campaigns. Naturally, there is some overlap in the external presentation of our brands. But this is more accidental than intentional. Also, the fact that both of our brands are produced in the same manufacturing facility is not a negative thing. But still, to answer your question, each collection stands on its own.

Which materials do you enjoy working with the most and why?
If we are being honest, acetate is our best friend. But we are even happier when titanium is involved. Acetate is an amazing raw material. The whole surface feel is beautiful, with several stages of polishing in the polishing machine and a final manual polish. Acetate also offers tremendous longevity in eyeglass frames. This is because with polishing you can immediately remove every scratch on the surface. So you can patch things, repair things, rework things and upgrade the final product. I really don’t know of any other material that allows you to do that.

Is it true that you have a secret archive of vintage transparencies at your headquarters?
Yes, Dieter is quite fond of his vast supply of vintage acetate weighing more than eight tons with a retrospective from the 1980s to the 2000s. We continue to create small batch collections from this source on a regular basis.

Are there any designs in your collections that could be described as your typical signature style?
As a common denominator, perhaps I would say our avoidance of unnecessary gimmicks on the temples. We like the temples simple and anatomically balanced, most importantly with the goal of perfect wearability. This means you don’t need flashy logos. In my own collection, I use my special lamination and finishing technique, probably from acetate, which results in one-of-a-kind glasses.

Sashee Schuster’s new campaign is all about the 1968 generation. Where did you get your inspiration from?
My sister Renate was a woman of the 1968 generation. Untameable, wild, free, provocative. It was a fascinating generation. She told me about Afghanistan and how women there could move freely and undisturbed in miniskirts on university campuses. India, where she met many gurus and free thinkers. True, we are talking about the 1968 generation born in the forties and fifties. The hippie generation of that time is now 70-80 years old. Their grandchildren probably have houses in the city and life insurance. In some cases I’m sure they adopted typical lifestyles that they never thought of living – rejected at the time because it was too stuffy. We can learn something from the ’68ers. They started the first mega-event, “Woodstock”, intuitively and without concept, but with courage and a great passion for music. Although they were often criticized for their mindset, they exemplified what love instead of war means, how to break the conservative strings and how to see the world with colored eyes. They influenced all the generations that followed. Look at your grandmothers with different eyes. They were fiery, independent, defiant women with dreams and flowers in their hair. In heart and soul, they still are. That’s why in the campaign for my new collection I wanted to say “Embrace your hippie grandmothers, embrace their spirit, carry it forward and keep it”.

Could we say that your campaign answers the question of what the women of the ’68 generation would look like today if they were still so wild, free and provocative?
This question inspired me to create images in dialog with artificial intelligence, which I believe represents that generation. So I put on them models of glasses that emphasize the beauty of the wearer across real-life generations. The technique of laminating with acetate, refined by years of experience, makes it possible to create the most beautiful works of art in Funk’s eyewear production. We have created unique pieces with flowers, seeds, feathers, silk and much more, and the cuts that accumulate in the eyewear workshop are not thrown away, but made into earrings or necklaces. From raw material to finished eyewear, all from one workshop.

Source: Favrspecs

July 2023