Text: Marianne – OPTICS&FASHION
The Swedish eyewear brand Vasuma Eyewear was founded in 2007 by three friends, Jan VAna, Steffen SUndelius and Lars MAlmsten. Jan, Steffen and Lars came into contact with each other in 2001. After studying Business Administration, Communication and Marketing, Steffen and Lars worked at the same interior design company. Jan and Lars (studying Design) attended the same gym club. They soon discovered that they had the same interests: music, design, fashion and entrepreneurship. And so the need arose to create an alternative eyewear brand together to challenge the traditional label brands.
Stockholm
Vasuma is located in the heart of Stockholm (Old Town Island). Warehouse, showroom and office all fit into the four-storey 15th century mansion just a stone's throw from the Swedish Royal Palace. The collection is inspired by the pop culture and creative energy that comes from Stockholm itself: music, art, culture, people and life itself. Since its inception, Vasuma has been working with fashion brands and designers to create a common co-branding. Especially with Scandinavian brands and artists such as HOPE, Lagom, Deadwood Leather and Carin Wester.
Environmentally friendly
The advanced designs are inspired by the vintage models of the 50s and 60s and have a modern touch. Most frames use Mazzucchelli's 'M49' formula, with the advantage that they are both bio-based and biodegradable. The raw material for the metal frames is purchased from the very best companies in the market, such as the Swedish Sandvik. Environmental aspects are taken into account at every step of the production cycle, from the choice of materials and production method to how the final product is shipped to stores.
Design
Vasuma continues to use environmentally friendly materials in the current collection and has added strong colors to some metal frames, such as 'deep calf green' and 'wine red'.
Lars: “Design is a common interest and the three of us are closely involved in the design of each frame, but Jan Vana is the highly trained 'artist'. Steffen and I have a shared CEO role, but I am more responsible for production and administration and Steffen for marketing. We are 'handymen' and enjoy building and creating all kinds of objects.”
Italy
In addition to Italy, Vasuma works with factories in China and Japan.
Lars: “Vasuma is not a company that 'jumps around' every year to reduce prices. Instead, we attach great importance to a good strategic relationship. To this day we work with the same reliable companies and are good friends on a personal level.”
Spectacle tube
Each model has the name of a snake. The new names are: Amami, Jimuguri, Mulga, Bevel, File, Titanboa, Thread, Pine and Anguis.
Lars: “The general theme for the collection is based on how the child used to grow up with glasses. Having glasses meant that you were made fun of and bullies called you 'glasögonorm' or 'glass snake'. Vasuma has therefore named each style after a snake to honor each 'spectacled snake' and to show that the vengeance of the spectacled snake has finally arrived! By the way, revenge should not be understood as a serious threat, but as a communicative theme that most adults remember from their childhood.”
Vasuma no longer has a children's line.
Lars: “We used to have frames for children and also a specific collection called “Familia”, but we decided to concentrate on frames for adults. We did make frames for 'Save the Children' and still make 'Alien Eyewear' for an organization that helps children in the suburbs.
By the way, the collection was too big, so we are trying to kill some favorites and reduce it to 400 models: 300 optics and 100 sun.”
Bestsellers
Many of the frames have been bestsellers from the start - more than 15 years ago. Lars: “We consider this a sustainable added value. Our bestseller is HAD. The slightly square oval shape seems to be very good trend timing. It also has a quite unusual nose bridge and the sizing fits many faces 55-18-143, although it is masculine women who buy the “HAD”.”
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You can purchase Vasuma for the Netherlands at stand J05.
Our Belgian visitors can visit stand R04 for Vasuma.
