Has anyone else noticed that eyeglasses have become the new must-have fashion accessory? It used to be that even a decade ago most people who wore eyeglasses needed them, or worked in industries where their fatigued eyeballs were necessarily aided by spectacles. Perhaps eyewear’s growing popularity is due to the advent of the information age, which has anointed everyone with some kind of special knowledge so long as their smartphones are charged and available. In particular, the black nerdy spectacles popularized in the 1950s have made quite a comeback: it seems every media pundit is required to wear eyewear. Beyond the nerdy specs of yesteryear’s intellectual class, eyewear is also developing into a whimsical fashion accessory.
The new Biz Eyes collection of 3D printed interlocking rings is an example of eyewear’s growing popularity, as you can print multiple rings and simply pop them onto an existing pair of base frames.
Biz Eyes designer Nasim Sehat is an architect and freelance designer born in Tehran, Iran and currently residing in Shanghai, China. From looking at her design portfolio, she has produced a range of character and costume designs and drawings using simple lines that combine together to make original images. The Biz Eyes collection is intended as a costume design project and can be adapted for many uses, whether your world is the theatre or you treat the world as a stage for your innovative fashion statements.
The way these glasses work is that an original pair of circular frames is 3D printed, and this serves as the eye collection’s base. Many click-on circles, ovals, cat-eyes, and even flames, are available that all fit over the original b
ase pair, making it easy enough to wear and exchange your glass look — just like other jewelry accessories such as bracelets or necklaces.
3D printing makes this collection possible by providing interlocking joints that allow for the easy exchange of different rings to change the glasses’ appearance. The collection was designed using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper 3D design software. According to Generative Jewelry and Fashion Design 3D, Grasshopper is a graphical algorithm editor that is integrated with Rhino’s 3D modeling tools. Grasshopper requires no knowledge of programming or scripting, but designers are still able to generate designs based on algorithms — where a series of mathematical operations creates a form.
The Biz Eyes collection is an excellent example of this process as one general form can be almost endlessly replicated to create more rings. But be warned: these glasses are not for the faint of heart and should be worn with the expectation that you will receive much attention, as eyewear moves further from functional into the realm of spectacular spectacles.
Is the Biz Eyes look one that appeals to your inner diva? Let us know if you’d like to sport an ever-changing pair over in the Biz Eyes forum thread at 3DPB.com.
