The artistic talent of Portrait Eyewear

Luxury that rhymes with art. This is the dream realized by Valentina and Gabriel Hernandez, a sister and brother in their early 40s who founded their handcrafted eyewear brand in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, that enhances the talents of Italian artisans and international artists.

By Achille Perego | On PRINTlovers #94

They have Spanish-Venezuelan origins; Valentina has experience in the planning world and Gabriel in design which he built up during years of work in Madrid. Then there was the implementation of a passion in Bassano del Grappa - in other words, the Italian eyewear district - near Cadore, where Leonardo Del Vecchio's Luxottica empire grew.
And it was there that in 2016 they founded Portrait Eyewear, a brand of sunglasses and eyeglasses born out of a genuine desire to preserve the traditional quality of Italian craftsmanship, channelling this precious resource through research into contemporary eyewear design and following the principles of a sustainable and socially responsible business. This is also the case with the packaging - boxes and cases – which are designed to contain products that, from the beginning - especially with the lines Neon (inspired by the eponymous lights) and Glitch (incorporating the concept of the personalized flaw) - are not only worn but collected. So are the boxes that contain them. Starting with the recycled, self-assembling glue-free Havana cardboard box, which won the German Design Award Special in 2016. With a mention reserved for Portrait and its creative director Gabriel - Valentina is instead the company's CEO - as well as for the design by Alquimia Visual, Karen Lopez Pereney highlighted how "the design of this exceptional eyeglass packaging" was "the result of experimental attempts with polygonal shapes and eco-friendly cardboard, made to discover the beauty and nature of the product in a special way." The overlapping layers, the award citation continued, referring to the box then made by Scatolificio Pasubio of Schio, "secure the product and provide a fixed grip. Packaging with an interesting shape entirely without adhesive."
Today, that box, the first that accompanied Portrait Eyewear's entrepreneurial challenge, explains Gabriel Hernandez, has undergone a refresh, a reinterpretation designed to more closely meet the brand identity and packaging image that the market generally attributes to luxury products. Making it, as well as the cases, is now the Cafiero Group of Limana di Belluno, and the cardboard, always recycled and branded CFC, has been covered with a glossy paper heat-embossed with the brand logo, and the claim Frames embossed on it, which characterizes, like the name Portrait, both the company and Gabriel's professional history, very much linked to the world of photography. To Cafiero - one of the top companies in Italy for luxury packaging, and in this case eyewear, according to Gabriel Hernandez - Portrait also entrusted the creation of the cases made of regenerated leather combined with a particular ecological resin and which bear the brand name inside and the claim "Frames the Artist in you."

What was a gamble six years ago turned out to be a winner in the end. Of course, the two recall, it was not easy to think of entering the high-end eyewear sector that sees Italy as a leader and big brands presiding over it with quality products. So the choice of a start-up like Portrait was to think of combining luxury with art and creating unique products, authentic artistic pieces in limited editions that would never be thrown away once they had done their job but would remain in drawers acquiring value over the years.
The idea was accompanied later also by the decision - to better meet market demand - to produce more entry-level lines of glasses, both sunglasses and eyeglasses. Thus Portrait, with the commitment and passion of Gabriel and Valentina and of the team that has been formed - from sales to marketing to design - has grown over the years to be present in about twenty countries worldwide. Its starting point is the markets of Italy and France and the success it has been having lately in America, especially in New York and Miami, with about 250 served points of sale (opticians mostly) and also online sales both directly on its portal and through marketplace platforms such as the German Zalando, at first for the German and Dutch markets and now also for the Italian one.

"Our product," Gabriel Hernandez further explains, "is entirely handmade in Italy by artisans who combine traditional craftsmanship with high-tech manufacturing, pursuing the highest quality standards. The production process adheres to ecological and sustainable practices. All of our suppliers have a philosophy of energy efficiency and guarantee an ethical and exploitation-free workplace." Eyewear and sunglasses, the company's creative director continues, "are the result of deep research and design experimentation, strongly influenced by the artistic movements of the past and dedicated to its most iconic figures. In line with the artistic soul of the project, communication is therefore based on the promotion of emerging artists, in a loyal collaboration that assists both parties, the brand and its fascinating brand ambassadors."

"The design of our products," emphasize Gabriel and Valentina Hernandez, "is totally original, including the packaging with which, thinking of the boxes, we wanted to reproduce a cut that would recall the milling that enhances and gives an artisanal and artistic touch to the frames of the glasses. Our shapes," they add, "were carefully designed to create a product with a new character. When we created Portrait Eyewear, we spent a lot of time studying shapes and choosing a distinctive way to design our frames. In this regard, in addition to implementing original materials and new technologies, we offer shapes whose inspiration comes from elements associated with the visual arts in general, such as the polygon-art trend and minimalist-contemporary design."
The production process also adopts sustainable practices in the last stage of the supply chain, namely the production of the packaging, which uses FSC recycled cardboard; its design is totally foldable (no glue required) and completely original. It ensures safe delivery of the product by combining the principles of a wrapper that is also a design product and packaging that is resistant to delivery. But what are the features that make the product innovative? "Original shapes and design. The combination of curved, sharp lines and precious finishes. The low-relief milling above the nose bridge and the sharp milling in the temples are all details that recall the character and identity of the brand. Complex and precious workmanship, entirely handmade in Italy and no visible logos."

The Portrait Art Incubator project was started up within the Vicenza-based company because of personal passion and deep admiration for authentic artists who risk everything to give deeper meaning to society. This represents, Portrait's two founders explain, "an opportunity to highlight such commendable talent, laying the foundations for a cooperative symbiosis with emerging artists, sponsoring their image - as real and extraordinary people -through the communication strategy of our products. We intend to continuously increase the network of our artists, honouring their work and making them known beyond their immediate sphere."
There are dozens of artists who are part of the Portrait project, both Italian and international, who, each in their own way, have made and are making a contribution, both in terms of the eyewear product and the packaging. After all, Portrait's Art Incubator was conceived, Gabriel Hernandez further explains, "to take our vision to the next level, creating a vibrant community of artists and "incubating" their talent. To do this, we connect these figures with partners and sponsors who see art as a tangible form of value."

And on the packaging level, this combination of luxury products and art has already had an amazing fulfilment thanks to the collaboration with the Venetian Emiliano Donaggio. He is a young, internationally established artist, with many exhibitions to his credit, both collective and solo, in the most important Italian cities, in European capitals such as London and Barcelona, in the United States in Los Angeles and New York, and in South America. Donaggio, Gabriel Hernandez recalls, pursues his creative path with consistency and absolute freedom of expression, both in the sphere of design (jackets he designed have been purchased by international VIPs such as Elton John, Madonna, and Robin Williams) and in the more appropriately artistic sphere, in which he stands out for his creative use of poor materials (from plastic to iron wire), which he inserts in his installations, even large-scale ones, on the facades of buildings. Added to this are a sure sense of colour and the insertion of lettering, making him an heir to pop art and graffiti art. This artistic quality has been applied to the box that packages the Portrait glasses. For now, Gabriel Hernandez explains, "it has remained a prototype displayed in the Bassano del Grappa offices, but the initial idea of opening our packaging, from boxes to cases, to artists remains, and the dream is to continue this experience." Making even more exclusive in the coming years not only the content - the glasses - but also the container.