Max Mara’s Artful Optics

Max Mara has taken to framing art—but not in the conventional sense. The Italian fashion house is showcasing the work of Shantell Martin with its latest eyewear collection, with winning results. The New York-based visual artist is known for fusing text and abstract figures in her graphic, stream-of-consciousness creations, and her original piece for the collaboration carries that theme. Her design was digitally reproduced, translated to paper, and lain into the sunglasses, but the final product still looks as though it were hand-drawn. The 1,000-piece line, called Prism In Motion, highlights the correlation between Martin’s process and Max Mara’s approach to design: balancing impulse with reason to create bold, feminine pieces. For collectors of art or accessories, each cat-eyed pair is a coveted acquisition.