Thursday, February 18, 2016

Anna Sui's New York Fashion Week show features P.E.I.-made sunglasses

Made-in-P.E.I. sunglasses hit New York Fashion Week Wednesday night at Anna Sui's show for her fall 2016 collection.
The sunglasses showcased at Anna Sui's New York Fashion Week show were manufactured in P.E.I.

The glasses were designed by Sui in partnership with eyewear company Mondottica, and the sample run of 16 sunglasses was made in Guernsey Cove, P.E.I., by Fellow Earthlings sunglasses.

"It's been amazing," said co-owner Sydney Seggie. "[Sui] is a true designer, full of great ideas, and always setting us off in interesting directions."

The glasses from last night's show are round and encrusted with stones, with hearts or stars on the sides.

This isn't Seggie's first partnership with Sui. Fellow Earthlings has made the sunglasses for six of Sui's shows over the past five years.

"In the past we've done some pretty fun ones like ski masks and other really interesting products," she said.

The P.E.I.-made sunglasses have also been produced for other fashion designers, from as far away as Hong Kong and Finland — as well as other partners in Canada.

Seggie said Fellow Earthlings is able to operate as the producer for samples and small runs — of up to about 100 pairs of glasses — offering designers an alternative to factories.

"We like to do quality versus quantity," she said. "We definitely like to work on custom and sampling … we're happy to be able to do it here on the Island."