MAKING THE COLLECTION: AMUSE FOR D'BLANC COLLAB

Us Amuse girls L O V E sunglasses, but really who doesn’t?! They are a must living in southern California and a part of our daily routine! I personally am obsessed and own more pairs than I can keep up with. When D’Blanc approached us with the idea of collaborating on a collection of sunnies, I was thrilled to say the least. I had always wanted to design sunglasses, especially since I have been watching my husband do it for years.

The first step was to get with my team and brainstorm! We challenged ourselves to create styles that were on trend yet at the same time, a bit timeless. Our hope was to create a collection of frames that become your daily go-to; the pair that you reach for every time you get in your car or head to the beach because they are your most comfortable pair and will match any outfit you’re wearing. We then gathered a collection of inspo tears and started creating a mood board. This is the best place for me to start so that I can see all ideas in one place to assure one direction is set. The team and I all shared our go-to sunglasses that we wear every day. It was funny how each pair the girls brought in really defined their personalities. I decided that I wanted to make sure that within this collection there was a style for every personality on the team.

I then started channeling our rock-muse on a beach holiday and the girl whose bag is never unpacked. I was inspired by what she might wear as she heads off to the desert this spring for a casual weekend getaway, and because all the sunglasses are made in Italy, I dreamed of what she will want to take with her on her next vacation to the Amalfi coast of Italy! Working with the D’Blanc team was a dream – a group of rad guys who have all been in the sunglass world long enough to know exactly what they are doing. Rob Riese, Co-founder and Creative Director, brought me a mix of materials and lenses to play with.

I wanted to create an overall warm color palette so that all the frames created this beautiful color story and looked like a palette straight out of one of our Amuse collections. We love using shades of moccasin, blacks, creams, and pinks and always with a touch of bling! I also wanted to infuse hits of snake to compliment some of the animal prints in our apparel line, and the materials used in our shoe collab. with Matisse. We sketched up several design options before we landed on the final 5 styles!

Modern Lover is a stunning cat-eye and will certainly be my personal go-to pair in black snake. Sonic Bloom (coming soon) is a 70’s oversized frame and is so pretty on brunettes with its warm tones and rose gold details. Prologue is a must for the upcoming festival season with its smaller round shape and statement mirrored lenses. Dosed (Marquis)…hmmm, another one that might be added to my daily routine. I love the metal frame with a hint of taupe and the black snakeskin with mirrored lenses for more of a statement. This will be another festival season must have! Last, but not least, Prose (coming this May). It’s our signature oversized round frame in Black and Tort. Super retro and would look so good paired with a bikini on your next Italian getaway!

Last step was to call on our friend Cameron Hammond and his wife Rachel and have them photograph the collection! We selected South African model Danika as our muse and we shot her in her hometown of Cape Town. I love the final images and feel they are a true extension of the collection.

Check out the below images from BTS of our design days and happy shopping muses!

xx Mandy