Etnia Barcelona launches new sunglass collection

Optical brand Etnia Barcelona have launched its newest collection, Wild Love in Africa, which is inspired by Africa and its textures, particularly those known in the fashion world as animal prints. The campaign was shot by photojournalist Steve McCurry in South Africa, and is the label’s third special collection artist collaboration, and will support the Africa Rising Foundation, co-founded by Nelson Mandela’s grandsons Ndaba and Kweku Mandela, with 2% of the collections’ global sales donated to the NGO.

“For this collection we challenged ourselves to develop a design that captured the lush, free textures of the African savannah,” said David Pellicer, founder of Etnia Barcelona. “Wild Love in Africa is really a love note to the beauty found in nature, mixed with our signature injections of colour and personality, of course.”

The new Wild Love in Africa unisex collection of sunglasses captures textures and colours drawn from the wild savannah of Africa, including bark, zebra, cheetah, giraffe and horns. The collection has three styles of frames available in a variety of colour combinations. Africa 01 features vintage-inspired circular lenses with a ‘cat’s eye’ finish, Africa 02 is more masculine, but elegant and subtle, while Africa 03 draws inspiration from classic 1950s American style with a very wearable, widely flattering result. See photos below. Glasses range in price from $269 to $299.

The 100% eco-friendly, natural acetate frames are made using natural organic compounds (cotton and cellulose paste), with natural mineral glass lenses offer high performance features like sharper than normal vision, HD colour intensifying filters, optimum scratch, impact and static resistance and maximum UV protection. Lenses are available in several types of reflective material and a rainbow of hues.

Photojournalist Steve McCurry shot the campaign for the collection over five days in Lindbergh Lodge, a natural reserve in Wolmaransstad, South Africa. The ‘models’ were locals Jonas Ohentse (a 52 year old artist from Wolmaransstad – see photo above) and Nelisiwe Zandile (a 21 year old journalism student from Johannesburg) were hand selected by McCurry for photo sessions.

“The opportunity to work with a brand that creates products so full of personality, somewhere between fashion and art, appealed to me. I always look to tell a story of the inner experience of my subjects and enjoyed the challenge of capturing the character of the collection in a non-standard fashion campaign,” said McCurry.

Etnia Barcelona’s Wild Love in Africa collection collaborated with the Africa Rising Foundation. In donating two per cent of global sales to the NGO, the collection will contribute to the important work of this organization. The Africa Rising Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Ndaba and Kweku Mandela in 2009, which works with youth to empower them in the development of the African continent.

For more information on Etnia Barcelona.com, visit etniabarcelona.com.