Jazmin Torres and Atali Mendes
Photo: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com
Photo: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com
Ish Cepeda
Photo: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com
Back row: 20/20 Eye Care’s Naomi Arriaga; EssilorLuxottica’s Alessandro Mariani; Javon Taylor; friend of 20/20 Eye Care; EssilorLuxottica’s Sherianne James; and ARNETTE’s Astrid Casali. Front row: Joana Lara; ARNETTE’s Chiara Martello; and friend of 20/20 Eye Care.
Photo: Jason Lowrie/BFA.com
Celebrating its roots in skate culture and its signature sunglass style Catfish, ARNETTE and Dazed magazine hosted Skate Jam, a special skate and music fest during New York Fashion Week. Held in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Skate Jam took over an unused outdoor space next to the Hudson River and featured a program of skateboarding workshops and takeovers hosted by some of New York’s leading skaters and collectives. Customers and guests were treated to a skate clinic with skate classes for beginners and intermediates hosted by nonprofit organization Harold Hunter Foundation and Skate Kitchen’s Dede Lovelace. New York skate collective and fashion brand Gang Corp took over the bespoke Dazed x ARNETTE mini-ramp for a showcase followed by a skate competition where attendees showed off their best tricks to win special prizes, hosted and judged by professional skater Beatrice Domond.
“We create experiences that immerse both customers and consumers in the brand essence to become a part of the ARNETTE community,” says Sherianne James, chief marketing officer and senior vice president, Professional Solutions, EssilorLuxottica North America Wholesale. “Our approach is to bridge the gap between eyecare professionals and consumers through these experiences that target the brand’s core community, creating brand loyalists who actively seek the brand and thus create demand for our customers.”
Skate Jam also featured breakout spaces and complimentary food and drinks from Scarr’s Pizza, Rosaluna and Something & Nothing, along with a special DJ set by Dede Lovelace and a headliner set by Heron Preston concluding the evening. Guests in attendance included EssilorLuxottica customers and celebrities and influencers such as Midwxst, Robert Neal, Selah Marley and many more.
“It’s important for us to embrace our roots and differentiate ourselves as much as those who wear ARNETTE do,” says Astrid Casali, ARNETTE global brand director. “Creating street-inspired eyewear for the naturally edgy is what ARNETTE aims to do every day—and we brought that to life with Skate Jam.”
With the next generation of skaters pushing boundaries along with a whole new generation of young eyewear consumers embracing their authentic individual styles, Arnette is poised to lead that push.
—Christine Yeh
