INNOVATIVE MATERIALS | EYEWEAR DESIGN | CREATIVE BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
As Senior Eyewear Designer at EssilorLuxottica, New York, I led the design of Tory Burch and Brooks Brotherseyewear collections. This role expanded my understanding of global markets and refined my ability to translate brand identity into distinctive, consumer-focused designs through collaboration with teams in North America and Italy.
HIGHLIGHTS
RUNWAY EXHIBITION
While designing for Tory Burch, I had the opportunity to work on five runway eyewear collections presented at New York Fashion Week and worn by high-profile celebrities. The collections gained international recognition, with features in Vogue, WWD, Grazia, Marie Claire, and Harper’s Bazaar Online.
RUNWAY SS25
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Runway FW25
RUNWAY SS26
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AWARD-NOMINATED ACETATE FRAME
2024 Design Excellence Awards Finalist
This design fuses innovation with timeless style, rooted in an intensive custom acetate development process created specifically for Tory Burch. I led the exploration of layered, marbled acetates, experimenting with structure, colour combinations, and material behaviour to identify proprietary blends that reflected her brand’s refined yet expressive aesthetic. Through extensive prototyping and collaboration with material suppliers, we developed a unique composition that adds depth, character, and a distinctly luxurious finish—capturing the modern femininity central to the Tory Burch vision.
DESIGN INNOVATION
A defining project was the creation of an entirely new hinge system, combining Tory Burch's signature refined aesthetic with functionality to create a hinge defined by a metal ring that creates the illusion of pierced temples.
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Rhino & Keyshot
Image generated using Midjourney
AI & 3D VISUALISATION
Through the use of Midjourney, Rhino and Keyshot, I was able to present design concepts to the licence in a highly clear and immersive way. This not only strengthened the brand’s understanding of the direction, but also enabled the prototyping team to interpret the vision more accurately and identify opportunities for greater efficiency in development.
PRODUCT DESIGN
TORY BURCH RUNWAY
While designing for Tory Burch, I had the opportunity to work on five runway eyewear collections presented at New York Fashion Week. Runway projects allowed for deeper collaboration with the brand’s design teams and gave me the freedom to push creative boundaries. The briefs were far more exploratory, enabling me to experiment with colour, materials, and elevated design details. Several of these runway styles proved so successful that they were later adapted and commercialised for the wider market.
RUNWAY SS25
RUNWAY SS26
RUNWAY FW24
Runway SS24
RUNWAY FW25
RUNWAY SS26
TORY BURCH IN COLLECTION
Creating and developing new eyewear collections in collaboration with the license, brand team, product development, and design teams in New York and Italy. This included sketching concepts, producing detailed technical drawings, guiding prototype development, and presenting design directions. The role also involved researching trends, analysing competitive markets, and driving innovative materials and construction techniques to support brand strategy and collection development.
BROOKS BROTHERS CUSTOM ACETATE AND BESPOKE CORE WIRES
Developed for Brooks Brothers inspired by their iconic Madras print, bringing a signature element of their apparel into eyewear in a way that reflects the brand’s heritage and commitment to craftsmanship.
Material & Innovation Projects
Championed a design-led partnership with R&D to position Tory Burch as the leading brand in adopting new product introductions and bespoke materials from annual innovation meetings, highlighting emerging trends and technologies.
SIGNATURE PATTERN DEVELOPMENT
Tory Burch’s monogram is a highly recognisable brand signature, making it an important design element to incorporate into eyewear. As one of the brand’s core pillars, we refreshed it each season by exploring new colour combinations, techniques, and applications.
For SS25, we developed a custom injection mould that featured the monogram as an embossed texture on the inner temples. That season also introduced a leather Windsor rim, showcasing the print in a more subtle, elevated way. By FW25, we evolved the concept further by layering the monogram onto a horn-pattern acetate, creating a more textural and sophisticated effect.
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PROPRIETARY ACETATE DEVELOPMENT
Drawing inspiration from Tory Burch’s signature approach to bold yet refined colour stories, unexpected material pairings, and a timeless-meets-modern aesthetic, I collaborated closely with our acetate manufacturers to create proprietary materials that feel unmistakably ‘Tory.’ The result was a range of custom bi-layers, stipe acetate as well as a marbled tortoiseshell structures, exclusive to Tory Burch, that elevated each frame with a sense of quiet luxury and authentic brand DNA.
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COLOUR & MATERIAL DIRECTION
In collaboration with the trend and CMF teams, I carried out in-depth research to identify new colours and materials for upcoming collections. Inspiration was drawn from a wide range of sources, while ensuring alignment with brand direction and careful consideration of what complements the face.
TORY BURCH SS26 — A modern blend of solid lenses and rich acetate combinations aligned with the season’s earthy, grounded palette. The direction introduced pearly, iridescent marbled acetates in natural tones, paired with tone-on-tone lenses for both sun and optical. The organic “blob” pattern added depth through its interplay of clear and opaque areas.
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NOVELTY PROJECT
Commercial relevance of embellishment and novel lenses. Younger consumers increasingly see eyewear as a fashion accessory, prioritising expressive, trend-driven design inspired by digital communities and fashion influencers. By pushing aesthetic boundaries and aligning eyewear with the brand’s broader exploratory direction, we can create a cohesive visual language across categories that elevates and unifies total looks.
SHARP TINTING
Thoughtful colour combinations and colorblocking is iconic to Tory Burch eyewear, which is why we identified an opportunity to explore this signature element by creating tone on tone graphic lenses to create a light but interesting detail.
STATEMENT STUDS
Leveraging unique embellishment techniques and custom-designed stud elements as proprietary design signatures, enhancing the product’s recognisability and reinforcing its alignment with the brand’s aesthetic and identity.
OTHER BRAND PROJECTS
MENS EYEWEAR WORKSHOP
Coach | Micheal Kors | Ralph Lauren | Brooks Brothers
COACH EYEWEAR DESIGN PROJECT
MEDIA FEATURES
WWD ONLINE 12.08.25
“ Emily Ratajkowski stars in Tory Burch’s fall 2025 eyewear campaign, highlighting fresh interpretations of the brand’s Pierced style featured on previous footwear and accessories.
The new eyewear styles come after the success and popularity of the Pierced Mule, which debuted as part of Tory Burch’s spring 2023 runway collection. The “pierced” styling has since evolved to include handbags, jewelry, watches and belts from the label. “
Styles: TY2162U, TY7223U
MARIE CLAIRE 22.05.25
“A good pair of sunglasses is a staple in any hard-working summer wardrobe. You most likely have a classic pair of aviators or a sleek cat eye, but I spotted one retro-inspired trend cropping up on all the best runways—most notably McQueen, Tory Burch, Chloé and Lacoste—that I'd advise adding to your collection. We're talking yellow-tinted sunglasses, to be exact.“
Style: Runway SS25
HARPER’S BAZAAR ONLINE 11.04.25
“Tory Burch’s Runway sunglasses stole my heart and then my wallet.“
Style: TY5015M
TORY BURCH INFLUENCER TRIP 2024
Overall, the trip to Mallorca generated 1M views and 46K engagements on Instagram and Tiktok, surpassing the previous Essence of Dreams trip by +104% in engagements and +14% in views.
VOGUE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023
Nicki Minaj seen in Tory Burch SS24 Runway sunglasses.
Style: TY5015M
WWD DAILY EDITION 12.09.23
“ There were a number of futuristic looking, chic sculpted jackets, including a glittery deep purple collarless blazer with slit sleeves, worn with a super-short draped jersey bubble skirt, flat sandals and goggle glasses for a galactic glam look. “
Style: TY5015M
