Power of Expression
Face á Face, the French designer brand known for its passionately crafted series, is inspired by the Memphis style, which breaks all codes and values the power of expression more than functionality.
Independent eyewear brands always inspire with their special stories. Because usually the companies are a bit smaller and the founders are still actively on the board. This is also the case with the French brand Face á Face. In the 90s, founders Pascal Jaulent and Nadine Roth wanted to create a modern and creative company that didn’t have to follow a predefined mold. This particular positioning, which is immediately apparent when looking at the product range, is no coincidence. Indeed, designer Pascal Jaulent, the creative brain behind the French designer brand, has his own sense of life. The resulting special perspectives on life have a strong influence on the brand. Pascal Jaulent has always had a keen interest in social issues or ethnology and actually wanted to become an urban planner. This is how he creates his designs, combining architecture and art themes. Face á Face describes itself as a chic, French and colorful high-end brand. It is no coincidence that Face á Face’s frames are developed in its own design studio. The designs resemble small, thin architectural pieces that constantly reinterpret volumes, shapes, materials and textures. Once the design language that defines Face á Face is understood, the French company’s eyewear becomes easily recognizable. After all, isn’t it the unique design language that truly defines a great designer brand, rather than fancy oversized logos? Face á Face, a premium French designer brand long known for its passionately and meticulously designed collections, has taken this attitude and turned it into a concrete motto in its new collections. The combination and interconnectedness of colors and sculptural shapes is done in Memphis style. The Parisian designers are inspired by the radical art movement of the 80s, which turned the minimalism of the time on its head. Here is an interview with Marianne Dèzes from the Face á Face Design Lab about how the Memphis style has influenced the brand’s models.
Hi Marianne, where does your love for the Memphis style come from?
The father of my Italian boyfriend, in the old days, lived in an Italian villa full of Memphis masterpieces – a crazy house! When we saw the “Memphis” exhibition in Beaubourg Museum in Paris, we rediscovered the Memphis roots and its fascinating “beautiful-ugly” atmosphere.
What are the main distinguishing features of this art movement?
Memphis is a maximalist stance against the design approach of the time, which was obsessed with minimalism and modern aesthetics. The color palette of the Pop Art movement, the geometric figures of Art Deco and the unusual aesthetics of the 1950s kitsch phenomenon inspired this movement. We can say that Memphis creates a pattern shock in reaction to the rational-minimalist dictatorship of those times. It is nonconformist, breaks all codes and values the power of expression much more than functionality.
The Memphis style is the counter-design to “form follows function” or “less is more”. Weren’t you always very close to this style with your design orientation anyway?
You could say so, but like all designers, we used to have some “rules of good taste,” such as not mixing strong patterns. However Memphis shock pushed us to try new ways to break our own rules.
The founder of the Memphis movement, Ettore Sottsass, once said “design begins where rational processes end, and those of magic start.” Does this attitude also apply to your eyewear design?
We are very much looking for this emotion as a way to validate our designs. When you like something at first sight, and you cannot explain why, you can be sure you are dealing with a strong aesthetic emotion, and that is a very exciting moment.
Which color worlds do we find in the new collections?
We enjoyed working on new purple and green combinations, black and white patterns with vivid colors, a mix of 80s and 70s colors, and daring big contrasts. We hope that you will like them.
Is there a focus on specific materials in the new collections?
Not really. It is more the art of recombining things, exploring new contrasts, but also new shades, such as duck green with smoked transparencies, deep violet shading, and burnt oranges. So maybe a spreading of 70s color in the air.
With your new collections, you appeal to the irrational and the unconventional. Which designs are special to you?
The Calder model has a titanium voluminous spiral that goes around the eyes. This concept gives a great sense of freedom and the frame seems to have been made in a single movement. But the great technical development behind it goes unnoticed. That’s why Calder is special to me. Also Gioco, which means “Play” in Italian, is one of my favorites because it evokes the playful spirit of Memphis’ basic shapes and colors. The Novva sunglasses are sophisticated and bold with sculptures, contrasts and rich transparencies.
How would you summarize the influence of Memphis on your designs?
Memphis’ theme of “elementary plays” definitely inspired us. We were looking for something between “naive childhood” and ” connoisseur knowledge” and we found it in the Memphis style.
Source: Favrspecs
September 2023
