East Village

With summer fast approaching and the prospect of summer holidays looking brighter the search is now on. Of course im talking about the search for the perfect pair of sunglasses, and remember they must be perfect because summer 2021 is going to be iconic! It's essentially be 2 years since we got an actual summer where we can visit warm counties, sit by the pool all day and sip some margaritas.

The place you should be starting your search is online Sunglasses brand and retailer East Village and we got the chance to sit down with the owner Jenny to find out where it all because and what the furture looks like for the brand.

Where did the idea of an online Sunglasses store come from?

We started in clothing and we were always wanting to have sunglasses in our photoshoots to compliment the clothing, and we found that we were always very limited to the styles of sunglasses we could find. The designer sunglasses are also very expensive. We know that sunglasses can be affordable without sacrificing on quality and still be designer. We wanted to create our own range that offers something different, exciting, affordable and a lifestyle product.

How did you go about launching your brand?

We started the brand with literally a sketch of the logo in the back garden, we had that digitalised and designed the labels. Before that we checked to make sure we could register the name as a trademark.

We already had our range of sunglasses for our sister brand Ruby Rocks in mind, so it made sense to have the East Village range developed at the same time. East Village is our men's range, but it is also unisex, the styles can be worn by anyone, it's all about the attitude of the individual as to what and how they wear their styles. We launched the online store a few years ago and it has grown organically through the retailers we work with and through customer recommendations. There is a style for everyone, we have a diverse range for people to choose from.

East Village stocks other brands Sunglasses, how do you select the brands you work with?

We've been in the fashion, accessories and beauty industry for a while, and we are very lucky to be able to choose which brands and who we work with. We work with brands who are like minded, brands who care about the product they make and who make really good quality products to enhance people's lifestyles. The brands we work with all have a reason and story behind how and why they started making the products that they do. They are all experts in their own fields. We like to think that we are a Village of brands all working together to bring people nice things in life.

When creating new designs for East Village where do you begin?

We begin with looking at what we are doing on our other products and what's going on in the world at the time. We look at what our artists are doing and translate that into the product designs always maintaining quality and good design and upholding brand integrity.

Where do your inspirations come from when looking at bringing new collections out?

With sunglasses it's once a year collections. The clothing is twice a year and the lifestyle products for the home are ongoing with newness that will be coming through every season.

We work with artists in London, UK and New York and we blend the artworks and incorporate these into our designs. It's a mix of urban and nature which blend to give soft structure to our designs. Nothing intrusive, but products that are easy to wear and live with. We love art and style, we love to combine both and we fuse artworks from New York and London into fashion and freedom of style. We like to make styles and products that people will love and keep for a very long time.

How has Covid-19 affected your brand?

It's made us realise how fragile everything is in life and how we must be truly grateful for everything that we have. We tried to use the time positively and took the time to rebuild our online store, invest in new software and to welcome other products and brands onto our store and work as more of a community to grow as a group together going forward.

We had planned to have launched the clothing this time last year but we had to put a hold on everything as the world ground to a halt. We are getting this moving again now, things are taking time, but I think we have all learnt to be patient due to what has happened and I think everyone appreciates everyone a little bit more than before perhaps. The little things in life that make small differences have become so much more important now.

Is there anything you can tell us on how the future looks for East Village?

We are developing up a range of beautiful, hand crafted, glass and crystal candle holders. They will be available later this season.

We are also working on a range of clothing, tops mostly to start with, with amazing prints made up from special art pieces by the artists we work with. They are unique and we will run a limited edition series of these. They will be available later on in the season.

We hope to be able to see our products back in the stores and we look forward to seeing the independent stores around the country open their doors again and we hope that people will support them. We are really looking forward to more collaborations with other brands and retailers.

East Village is a collection of lifestyle products designed with a modern attitude. Our collections are designed with the idea that one’s attitude is what creates style. The attitude is about how one will wear the collection or use the product or place the products in their home. The clothing pieces are designed so as to make each piece your own. The collections and products are designed for those who are comfortable with their sense of style and are looking for something to define it. The design: Architectural details throughout pays homage to the cities that have inspired the collections, NYC and London. Sharp lines, mixed patterns, mixed fabrics and textures create a collection of versatility with an edge. East Village is a unisex brand, for all ages and those who like showing creativity in their life style, it’s for that aspirational yet relaxed lifestyle that everyone craves.

We have a sense of responsibility and culpability towards all our employees and work partners as well as our environment and of course our customers. We are not mass producing throw away items but making (sometimes to order), high quality products in an environment that is pleasant to work in and nurtures creativity, we work with small teams of people. Some of our lines are limited editions, with this in mind, we hope people will not throw them away, but keep them forever and appreciate them for the artistry aswell as the function.

Thank you for your time

Thankyou to you too!! We love your magazine, the styling, the content and your dedication to talk with independent brands to give them a voice to reach out to your readers.

You can shop the full range from East Village over at eastvillage.uk.com