Model Tabor

Independent Italian brand Tree Spectacles is now available in New Zealand, thanks to distributor Phoenix Eyewear.

Phoenix director Mark Collman said he was blown away by the visual appeal of the brand and the eyewear’s beautiful translucent colours at Mido 2022. Now, a year later, it’s finally here. “We wanted to do our homework to ensure Tree Spectacles were as good as they’re made out to be and they’re great! So far, we have had nearly 100% uptake from the practices we’ve presented the brand to and it’s doing incredibly well in Australia too, where it’s represented by Frames Etc.”

Collman said he increasingly finds independents are moving up the value chain, stocking higher quality ranges at a higher price point to help differentiate themselves from the high-street chains. “If they’ve got something high quality and exclusive, like Tree Spectacles, that positions them where they want to be. They also know they can stand behind the product – it’s got integrity and we stand behind it, meaning they won’t have any issues with after-sales service.”

The brand name comes from co-founder Marco Barp experimenting with making frames from carbon fibre laminated with timber in 2012. Collman said while this composition didn’t work very well, it did garner him attention and inspired a modern Italian identity of minimalist aesthetics.

Initially, Phoenix is focusing on Tree Spectacles’ range made exclusively from Mazzucchelli’s bio-based M49 acetate, offering quite the wow factor with its elegant, light frames in transparent crystal colours combined with a contemporary matt palette and metal details.