Akoni Group’s Rosario Toscano On Collaborating With Balmain and Crafting Sunglasses Fit For Olivier Rousteing’s Celebrity Friends
The Swiss-based eyewear brand has joined forces with French fashion house, Balmain, to create an extraordinary luxury eyewear collection like no other…
Bazaar sat down exclusively with Akoni Group Co-Founder and CEO, Rosario Toscano, to discuss The Balmain by Akoni Group collection in detail.
How did the partnership with Balmain come about?
Fashion brands have long used eyewear as a gateway category for introducing consumers to their brands at an accessible price point. Eyewear unlike other product categories is typically licensed to third parties and so the net result is poorly designed, low quality, environmentally unsound products whose entire value proposition is really only a recognizable logo emblazoned on the side.
This production dynamic is extremely harmful to long-term brand integrity because consumers are misled into believing that the quality of their favorite brand’s eyewear will match its house-made products — and when it doesn’t, disappointed consumers go looking for a new favorite brand. Balmain was savvy enough to recognize that the house’s eyewear wasn’t up to parr in quality to the offering of its other product categories and that it was time for a change.
How did you ensure that the brands DNA was accurately reflected in the curated collection?
Before Akoni Group began working with Balmain, they were already familiar with key members of our talented and experienced team. As a result, Balmain knew that we possessed the unique ability to authentically translate and imbue fashion brand DNA into a genuine high-end collection comparable to the best on offer from the finest eyewear-only brands.
To ensure that the collection was true to the Balmain’s DNA we worked closely with Creative Director Olivier Rousteing — a truly brilliant designer whose fashion collections provided our team with endless inspiration. We couldn’t be more proud of the Balmain by Akoni Group collection and we believe that it’s the highest quality fashion eyewear brand ever brought to market.
What part did Balmain’s archival references play in the designing of the glasses?
The Balmain archive is a veritable treasure trove of rich design inspiration spanning decades. There are so many great ideas that it was almost impossible to know where to begin! We truly had endless inspiration from past, archived collections to more current ones, making the design process a real treat.
Fortunately, Olivier and our team share a mutual respect as well as similar design aesthetic and language, so the process went quite smoothly and we’re all extremely pleased with the outcome.
The Balmain by Akoni Group collection is one in line with the singular DNA and easily recognised codes of Balmain. The collection reflects the strong, audacious and confident spirit of the Balmain army. The gold touches recall Pierre Balmain’s signature golden medallions and gilded buttons, and the details and high level of craftsmanship echo Balmain’s famed atelier.
How involved was Olivier Rousteing in the design process?
Olivier is a true force of nature in the fashion industry and is extremely involved in any creative process that carries the Balmain name, and so naturally for this collection every design was guided by his masterful hand. Olivier is our biggest fan and we’re grateful for his ongoing passion and contribution to this partnership. From the start it was clear that the vision of both design teams was completely aligned, and Olivier shared his latest design ideas via monthly meetings.
Moving forward we look forward to working closely with Olivier and his design team each season to ensure that Balmain by Akoni eyewear is a coherent part of the house’s overall collection and perfectly completes each season’s signature Balmain look.
What is your favourite style from the collection and why?
It’s very difficult to choose – it’s like asking a proud parent to choose his favorite child – I love them all! However, if I had to pick just one then it would be Wonder Boy.
I’ve worked in high- end eyewear for decades, and Wonder Boy with its bold and technically sophisticated yet lightweight shield and titanium frame design is probably the single most beautiful and complicated to produce design I’ve come across. In our first design meeting Olivier asked: “Can we make a pair of sunglasses that all my celebrities friends will want to wear so they can be shielded behind the lenses?”
So that is how this famous piece was designed and came to be – named in honor of Olivier Rousteing, our very own Wonder Boy which also happens to be his nickname and one of his personal favorites for daily wear — this overnight sensation turned international icon perfectly harmonizes Balmain’s rich classic and contemporary fashion heritage.
That said, I also love the recently released Wonder Boy II. Like I said, it’s tough to choose!
How does AKONI group align itself with luxury?
Akoni Group is a progressive Swiss luxury concern TRIBUNE whose principal goal is to create beautiful, timeless, high quality products utilizing materials and methodologies that respect humankind and our natural environment.
The company was founded in 2019 by myself and Artistic Director Salma Rachid to advance our shared values, interests, and passions — from social and environmental responsibility to preserving traditional craftsmanship and the heritage of eyewear as a distinct art form. In addition to sharing a similar world view, Salma and I complement one another in ways that make us a perfect team.
I’m a business-creative who’s spent most of my professional life in the eyewear industry, whereas Salma is the creative arm of the business whose experience and family has been a leader in the fashion and personal care industries for generations. We chose the name Akoni — meaning inestimable, priceless, worthy of admiration because it represents the standard we set for our product, our brand, and ourselves.
How does AKONI group set itself apart from its competitors?
Akoni Group products — from Balmain by Akoni Group to our eponymous Akoni eyewear collection are for people who understand and appreciate a concept that we refer to as honest luxury — which is to say, a genuine correlation between quality and price. With this, I’m not saying that all expensive products are good quality, in fact, in the fashion eyewear category there’s little or no relationship between quality and price. Akoni Group products are different; our designs, materials, craftsmanship, and customer service are the finest available.
Our eyewear is designed to provide years of use and enjoyment while making you look and feel great. We’re socially and environmentally conscious, not because it’s good for marketing, but because it’s good for our planet. We’re incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished, and firmly believe that once a customer experiences Akoni Group products, they will be a customer for life.
The Balmain Eyewear collection will be exclusively available in Magrabi stores across Dubai on May 19, 2021. For more information visit, magrabi.com.
Lead image supplied.
