Formerly known as FAKOSHIMA, conceptual eyewear brand FAKBYFAK was established in Moscow in 2013. Combining innovative design, advanced technology and traditions of handcraft, FAKBYFAK is a multicultural brand with offices in Moscow and Hong Kong, and their products are produced in Japan, Hong Kong and Italy on leading optical manufactories. In 2016, the brand joined forces with fashion designer Manish Arora and avant-garde Belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck to create exclusive iconic eyewear, and has since been featured in global fashion press, worn by celebrities and bloggers, and stocked at world-famous department stores. We sat down with Alex Melnikov co-Founder & CEO of the label to discuss their rebranding, their distinctive niche within the industry and designer collaborations.
What is your background, and what led you to the establishment of FAKBYFAK?
I have one degree in Social Science and one in Management. My partner Roman is a God of Engineering. Both of us had nothing to do with design or fashion in terms of education. After graduation, I worked as a press secretary in a number of big companies for many years. Later, I worked as a project manager in the events business, and after that, I worked for the Canadian Cirque du Soleil as a production director in Russia. Neither Roman nor myself had any connection with the eyewear industry at all, though we had an intuitive feeling about how things suppose to work and were sure we could make a project successful in almost any field. We find and explore talented ideas – or they find us instead – and together we make them flawless, and turn them into a product.
In fact, it all started from our project FAKOSHIMA, but if we are talking about motivations, it started with a pretty basic idea and strong desire to break away from the realm of fantasies, and create something tangible. In other words, there was a little spark that transformed into a fire. Then, I felt the need to share this fire with others, and watch my ideas come to life developing new connections. It felt like there were these invisible threads that linked everyone who came close. That was the start, and sunglasses were simply an instrument to implement these ideas and bring them to the world.
You started as FAKOSHIMA. What prompted your rebranding?
Despite the initial success of our first project, it was clear that we had to expand further, and reinvent the brand to stay on the edge and maintain the idea of the unexpected. We had broken away from the sterile futuristic stylization and the vision of a single designer. When you take your achievements and “exceptional” talent too serious, you lose. We built an international team of designers from France, UK and Russia. This way, we managed to bring diversity to our ideas and go beyond our own limitations. We realized that the old name and its concept did not offer enough space for our visions; it was time to move on. We had the motivation to create more than just an eyewear brand rather than a trend and even a subculture. We would like to give existence, starting with our own, new meaning. We are looking for ways to help new aspiring designers bring their ideas to life, as well as find new forms to express our own. FAKBYFAK is amusing slandering of ridiculous collaborations’ branding. We entirely share the idea that an incredible story realized in the product and the vibe around it should always be at the forefront of a company, before overindulged branding or marketing tricks. I endlessly believe what you call the brand makes no difference; what does is the product and I will prove it through our personal story.
Where do you find the inspiration to design such extravagant pieces?
The inspiration comes from the excitement, which arises during the night I spend one on one with my thoughts, or any little thing that turns the chain of events and makes me come up with an idea that could later evolve into the key design for a new collection. I cherish spontaneous inspiration. I always follow it through and bring others on board.
Do you wear sunglasses? Do your personal preferences influence your line?
No, I don’t. I didn’t find any proper for myself yet. For some they are an everyday accessory, a part of their image, a necessity. I don’t look at glasses in any of these ways. I personally consider the frame as an object and prefer to see the world with no filters. For the new season, we are introducing our first men collection, not unisex, but truly for men. I love the design a lot. Honestly, we created it thinking about ourselves; perhaps that will be the one I’ll finally put on.
How did you choose the locations to manufacture your products?
Oh, it was challenging and a long way of trials and errors! We produced in different locations in Japan, Italy and Hong Kong. Finally, we focused our efforts and energy on one manufacturer in Hong Kong, and managed to produce frames of exceptional quality thanks to my partner Roman, who sees through all the production stages and is responsible for quality control. The technology experts we work with at the production house confessed that our strict quality control policy had helped them improve their work dramatically. In fact, thanks to our expertise, innovations and attention to every small detail that got passed on to their staff, they now produce for very well-known brands. We truly give the items a lot of attention before approval. And yes, we are picky and do not give the green light if there is even a hint of doubt, which may drive the production staff mad more often than we’d want to. So, the production location does not make the difference, as long as there is passion and love, as well as extra financial investment, your personal knowledge and attitude.
Where in the industry do you see your product fit? What void do you aspire to fill?
From the very beginning we were eager to represent vivid visual stories, create new aesthetic codes and meanings – everything that makes the product special establishes a relationship with the owner. We want to embrace people’s desire to be visual and buy a design, not a logo. Frankly speaking, I never felt that we are a part of the industry, and never looked around and followed into the industry rules. We aspired to carve our own niche and stick to it. I feel we did well so far this way. Our initial naive approach to the eyewear industry turned out to be our biggest strength and fortune. Yes, we created strong conceptual frames, not for everyone but for those who want to stand amongst the crowd. I imagine our mission lying in breaking the stereotypes in terms of casual eyewear. We are guided and inspired by avant-garde ideas and make wearable frames. We do not aim to commercialize our ideas and the product as a whole, but to create and occupy a niche where our glasses will take their own place. Looking back at what was happening with us last year I can say we are on the right way. I do believe that the potential of our ideas and brand in general is huge as we are different and don’t have the roots traditional for this industry.
I saw Amy Roiland from “A Fashion Nerd” wearing one of your designs. Is blogger engagement a promotion medium that could prove effective in the long run for your company?
It depends on certain personalities and bloggers. There is a pool of them I personally love to cooperate with, but this doesn’t mean I consider blogger engagement a main and efficient tool for promotion. Mainly I do this because I really love the way they work and I sincerely want to share with them our items in return for their endless love, passion and faith in what we do.
You have also designed for Manish Arora and Walter van Beirendonck. How did these collaborations come about? Are you interested incollaborating with designers/artists from other fields?
Yes, in 2016 we engaged in overwhelming collaboration projects with fashion designer Manish Arora and avant-garde Belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck. It was a risky, challenging, almost torturing sometimes, but a valuable experience. We are truly grateful to have had this opportunity. Initially, we were receiving quite many offers, but finally came down to two of them with Manish and Walter. The level of responsibility in this cooperation was extremely high, but we hit this bar. We became the first Russian eyewear brand to make such a breakthrough in terms of ideas, concept developing, production and marketing. I want to thank our first and number one French PR, Kuki de Salvertes, who guided us through this way. At the end of January, he will present his book “The Life in Fashion” at Joyce Gallery in Paris, and I’ll be happy to join him for this occasion.
Our plan is to create a vibe around the brand and our products, taking part in projects in different spheres. We are open to collaborate with those who are not afraid to be adventurous, even a bit rebellious, to change the world. I suppose that is our main doctrine. I simply cannot stand mediocrity; it makes me sick and tired. Our goal now is to go beyond an idea of FAKBYFAK as a brand, and transform it into an event, a subculture or a movement, as I already said before. That is the new challenge we have faced ourselves with.
www.fakbyfak.com
Images © Fakbyfak
