Eyecare Business (January 2017)
Gwen!
The Grammy Award-winning fashion designing phenom dishes exclusively with EB on her eyewear collections and her serious specs appeal
Gwen Stefani has rocked the world on so many levels. The singer, songwriter, and fashion designer was the co-founded and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose 1995 album “Tragic Kingdom” delivered five chart-topping singles. The three-time Grammy Award winner has also had a wildly successful solo career - her third solo album released in 2016 became her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.
In 2003, the fashion icon stepped into the design world with her own high-end clothing line, L.A.M.B. She extended into a slighter lower price point with her gx by Gwen Stefani line in 2014.
And, in, 2015, she realized a long-term goal when she debuted her stunning L.A.M.B. and gx by Gwen Stefani eyewear collections with Tura.
EB editor-in-chief Erinn Morgan had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Stefani, who is also the mother of three young boys, to chat about her wildly popular eyewear, her design aesthetic, her new animated series, and her go-to practice for staying grounded.
Erinn Morgan: You have accomplished so much, from music and fashion to movies and motherhood - and eyewear. How in the world do you do it all - master scheduling, boundless energy?
Gwen Stefani: I don’t have a lot of energy. I’m super unorganized. I’m not a good scheduler. You know what I do believe? I believe that everything happens how it should, and there’s, like, a purpose in your life and everything happens at the right time.
[There was a point when] I was getting frustrated that I hadn’t done eyewear yet. It just seemed like a really perfect thing for me to do but it just never seemed to happen. And then, [the right thing] came along at the right time.
EM: Why is your partnership with Tura symbiotic?
GS: Working with Tura has been incredible. And I think that what makes it doable is when you partner with somebody who gets you, and gets your aesthetic.
I think because I have a strong aesthetic and I know exactly what I like, people pick up on that. I’ve always put out the same message in my music and my style. And I think that’s just because it is true to what I really feel and who I am.
EM: Can you tell us a little about your eyewear collection?
GS: It was challenging but… we started off with two brands at one time - gx, which is a little bit bolder with playful colors and expressive shapes, and L.A.M.B., which is more sophisticated, dramatic - with a classic Hollywood street edge.
With gx, the goal is to try and make it look as rich as possible, but keep it within an affordable price point. And then L.A.M.B. is sort of like, ‘Okay, let’s just go for it. Make our dreams come true.’
EM: Was designing/launching eyewear what you expected?
GS: Obviously, I haven’t been schooled in eyewear design. It’s very specific and it’s complicated. The challenge for me has been opening up my style a little bit… we work together to design something that works for me but also works for what the customer demands.
Our design process starts with a general mood board. It’s really broad, like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do stuff with neons.’ Then it develops into actual shapes, and once the first samples come in we literally sit there and try on every single pair and we make adjustments.
I was literally blown away with the first collection at how [Tura] got me so good. And then the second collection got better. But this third collection, to me, is unbelievable. I mean, if you could see my bedside table right now, it’s completely covered - I think I got 17 pairs, just for optical for myself - because I couldn’t choose!
EM: Of all the glasses on your night table - do you have a fav pair that you’re wearing right now?
GS: I do have a pair that I’ve been wearing a lot that are a burgundy-red color [gx by Gwen Stefani style TAVI GX024 in Red].
EM: What is your favorite non-eyewear project that you’re working on right now?
GS: I have a new animated series that just came out called “Kuu Kuu Harajuku.” I’m just so excited, because that was a dream I had from a long time ago.
EM: With your ultra-busy schedule, what is the one, key thing you make sure you do for yourself most days - meditation, working out? What keeps your sanity?
GS: My sanity - this is a good question, and I’m so happy to have a platform to be able to talk about it - is my spirituality and coming back to that through the day.
It’s a seed that my parents planted in me when I was young, and something that probably on my journey got lost along the way. But, you know, whenever you have tragedies and hard times, those are given to you to try to wake you up again.
So I’ve definitely had an awakening in these last couple of years and I think it’s the one thing that made me wake up to my gift of being confident and my purpose and trying to contribute and be a positive person and actually recognizing I have a platform to make a difference.
EM: Exactly. And that’s a beautiful thing.
GS: But when I get off the phone with you, I am going to go exercise because I do need to do that, as well. [laughs]
EM: That’s grounding too, right? Well, is there anything else about your eyewear that you’d like to tell our readers?
GS: I just want people to realize that it’s genuine. It’s something that I really am passionate about. I love to design and I love to share that. Once you get that pair that really works for you, and represents your personality, it’s just really fun. I love being part of that.