Not many people can trace their business ideas back to a single event, but Chinese-born designer-entrepreneur Xiwen Zhang can pinpoint the moment she recognised a gap in the market. “I was on holiday in Greece with my now husband, who is Greek himself,” she said. “He was showing me the sights and the shops. I was looking for a cool pair of sunglasses, something chic and stylish, but not crazy expensive. The only ones I liked were by Dior and priced at more than €500! I was an art student at Goldsmiths [University of London] at the time and there was no way I could afford them. I decided it would be a good idea to launch a brand of luxury hand-made sunglasses that people would really notice.”
The brief Zhang set herself was simple: her products had to be both creative and thoughtfully designed using the best materials and priced around the £180-£250 mark – a cost bracket that was surprisingly lacking in quality sunnies. Her husband, a lawyer, became her business partner and together they launched For Art’s Sake in 2016, an accessories business specialising in sunglasses and eyewear with, as the name suggests, a whimsical, art-led aesthetic thanks to colours and silhouettes that go against the grain.
“Comfort of wear is extremely important to us,” Zhang explained. “We think about every aspect of the shape so that it fits beautifully on the face and feels lightweight.” Most of the designs are crafted in premium acetate and all sunglasses are equipped with ultra-lightweight shatter-resistant nylon lenses with an anti-reflective coating. As well as being 100% UVA and UVB-protected, even the nose pads are well considered. “They are made of jade,” she said. “Adjustable, hypoallergenic and very importantly make-up resistant. I hate it when sunglasses get streaks of foundation.”
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For Art’s Sake prides itself on distinctive shapes. Some frames are oversized and geometric, some more futuristic in spirit, others still are romantic and curvy, all reflecting an artistic theme or movement. Colours can be electric, bold or no-nonsense matt black. Zhang also likes to add a little “je ne sais quoi” to her frames, such as a tiny pearl fastened to the end of branches, or little golden knots at the sides. There’s always something to catch the eye. Fans of the brand include Beyoncé, Rita Ora, Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Paris Hilton, Kate Hudson and Alessandra Ambrosia to name a few.
The couple opened their first stand-alone store in Covent Garden’s historic market building in 2019. An ideal location attracting a cosmopolitan crowd, the boutique is a bijou Art Deco-inspired space decorated in baby blue, the brand’s signature colour, which is applied to boxes and boutique bags, too.
And on the subject of packaging, there certainly is no other brand with cases as nifty as those offered here. Sunnies come in blue velveteen boxes with secret compartments, doubling up as jewellery boxes. The matching soft travel cases also double up as wallets with card and foreign money slots. It’s a clever and pragmatic concept that surprisingly no other luxury brand has thought of, proving that Zhang understands luxury as something that should surprise and delight.
This being a young, successful brand with a strong online presence, Zhang has pushed the identity of her business towards a colourful and creative visual language. Most notably, she has secured some highly desirable (and Instagrammable) collaborations, first with a limited-edition Hello Kitty series (an instant sell-out) and now with a Frida Kahlo range in partnership with the artist’s official foundation.
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This first Frida drop is split into three categories: “Brush”, sunnies with delicate silhouettes and slim branches inspired by paintbrushes; “Mask”, which are oversized and embellished with a little metallic cameo of the artist on each branch; and “Portrait” comprised of cat-eye frames also decorated with a cameo adornment. All three shapes are available in four colourways and priced at £225. “The Frida Kahlo collection is all about self-expression and being your own muse,” said Zhang. “They are a celebration of self. I think our sunglasses stand for individuality and being perfectly unique.”
Packaged in their velveteen blue boxes and sold with a free limited-edition mini bag emblazoned with a chromatic portrait of the artist, you can bet this collection will ping around social media like lightning. Get yours while you can.
Alexandra Zagalsky is a London-based journalist specialising in luxury, art and travel. She began her career working on a cultural guide for English-speaking expats in Paris, where her first major break was an interview with Lionel Poilâne, the late baker of Saint-Germain-des-Prés famed for his signature sourdough loaves. Returning to London in her early 20s, she went on to write for not only The Week but also The Art Newspaper’s Art of Luxury supplement, The Telegraph and The Times, as well as art and design platforms including 1stDibs’ Introspective Magazine and the magazines of the V&A, Sotheby’s and Christie’s. She studied fine art and art history at Goldsmiths, University of London and continues to explore travel journalism through the lens of art, craftsmanship and culture.
