SPY Launches Crosstown Collection

May 7, 2012

Author: Mike P.

SPY Optics announced today the launch of its much-anticipated Crosstown Collection. A line of stylish, handmade sunglasses inspired by 50s and 60s fashion, music, Golden State roots and a fondness for The City. The first installment of this limited distribution collection lands this week a key independent specialty retailers nationwide.

SBC Business spoke with Spy's Canadian Marketing Manager, Daryl Trinidad to get his take on the launch.

What will this mean for Spy?
The Crosstown Collection is another pillar of our brand. For this exclusive offering, we went back to our roots, and looked at what the founders of SPY were inspired by: Vintage motorcycles, classic cars, longboard surfing, the coast and the City. The designers worked with our athletes and came up with a collection that connects to the lifestyle market.
We have launched this line directly to support key selected retailers. We have lots of fans of SPY, but in certain cases product mix wasn't exactly right for their store. This collection fills that hole, and offers more for the lifestyle market.  The exclusive and limited nature of the product also gives us a platform to experiment and collaborate deeper with artists and athletes.

What is your retailer plan for Canada?
 We have targeted accounts that have been here since beginning and supported us. Creating an exclusive offering is a way to give back to our most valued retailers, as well as giving back to the culture that helped shape us. We have attempted to have one retailer in each main city, and one retailer for all of Quebec. The goal is to grow within these accounts, and in the future open key doors.

"The Crosstown Collection is perhaps the most exciting product launch ever for our brand," explains Brent Sandor, SPY Brand Manager. "It was designed as an exclusive collection with a more fashionable slant for those who appreciate the same inspirations that permeate the collection classic surfing, the sounds of a good record, vintage automobiles and life in the city. Crosstown essentially connects SPY back to its foundation as a fashion-forward brand that embraced the cultural crossroads of the surf, snow and motorcycle lifestyles."

A focused offering of seven styles, Crosstown is a reinterpretation of classic styling. Traditional shapes ranging from square to round, cat eye to angular, are handcrafted from the finest acetate to create rich, lustrous torts and colors in both polished gloss and matte finishes with custom metal detailing. High quality CR39 lenses with an antireflective coating on the inside provide a rich visual experience, optical clarity and protection in the most glaring of situations.

Crosstown is now available in the following styles: Mercer, Burnside, Haight, Yonkers, Fremont, Beachwood and Midtown.

We worked with a small crew of athletes and fashion-forward advocates with the intent of reinventing classicness with our own point of view,says Michael Marckx, SPY President. We cut our design team loose to represent what's happening within the creative ranks of our universe, to make something that they completely groove on, which led to a really unique handmade approach that you can feel and certainly see in the line.

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