One look at Asian sunglasses brand Twistrek’s standout designs, and it could be easy to misinterpret their mantra – with bold, oversized proportions, there’s a feeling that these sunglasses are not for the faint of heart, where, in fact, they are glasses designed specifically for all. Twistrek is a brand that is taking sunglasses design to a new level, deeply rooted in science with silhouettes that have an almost architectural aesthetic, creating each pair to ensure that no matter your face shape or background, these glasses are for you.
Though what we wear may not always reflect our intentions, there is still much space for clothes and accessories to better represent our diversity and to reflect the many social labels that help us understand ourselves and each other; this is where Twistrek is pushing the needle, where playfully appealing design intersects with social and environmental responsibility.
After three years of extensive research, resulting in two optimised sizes, their collection is as bold as the approach. Still, the responsibility doesn’t hinder the sense of fun but enhances it through clever design elements. The palette is bright, and the shapes defy convention in every way, from the flexible hinges that adjust to the individual face to the weighted temple tails, which consider different nose angles, exemplifying the brand’s inclusive mission. The single-coated CR30 lenses are surrounded by hand-crafted biodegradable acetate that reflects the brand’s environmental and social intentions. Everything has been carefully contemplated, from the final product and consumer requirements to the materials that ensure an environmentally sound product end of life; this brand cares to its core.
At the heart of Twistrek are Jess and Caitlyn, two ambitious, energetic and highly competent colleagues, both complementing each other with their visions and skillsets; for them, Twistek is not about setting trends but rather aiming to give people pause for thought, to offer exceptional design while igniting their imaginations, galvanising them to think beyond convention, to choose their purchases more carefully to encourage others to push design to new realms of inclusivity. The Time Lapse Collection encapsulates all eras of humanity’s story. With its angular form, Mojo draws inspiration from the retro era, while Hex looks into infinity and Yore looks to the past.
Flanelle spoke to Caitlyn and Jess about how they met, the inception of Twistrek and their decision to take their sunglasses beyond convention.
Text by Leigh Maynard and Brian James
For those new to the brand how would you describe the Twistrek aesthetic and why did you name it Twistrek?
Twistrek’s aesthetic is futuristic, bold, experimental and gender neutral. The design is led by the ideology of inclusivity to embrace the beauty of most face shapes without compromising comfort. /twɪs • trɛk/ means a twist from the ordinary; embracing nonconformity, unconventional and limitless. A trek through a kaleidoscopic journey; durability and grit. In short, Twistrek is a ceaseless journey into the future.
How did you meet and what are your respective creative backgrounds?
We are a radical change from our peaceful night sky where two opposites meet. A Cosmic collision of the YIN and YANG. We met on the interconnected World Wide Web through a social networking platform where Jess lamented about the lack of mental health awareness and assistance in Asia. That sparked Caitlyn’s interest to reach out to understand more and that was the start of a friendship.
YIN – Jess is a dreamy, artsy creative that embraces the dark side of the moon and a creature of the night. She was a creative director who runs a private creative agency, 2baesickstudio, that does multidisciplinary work ranging from photography, branding, styling, set design to graphic design for brands. Over the years, she became solely focused on being a tattoo artist@jessinfully and running the creative elements of Twistrek Sunglasses.
YANG – Caitlyn is a logical, business minded entrepreneur that embraces the brightest side of the sun (it’s too bright for Jess, it practically decimated her. When Jess goes to sleep, that’s when Caitlyn wakes up – 5am). She was a data driven product marketer for startups with digital technical marketing skills ranging from SEO, SEM to Social Media Marketing.
What was the catalyst for founding Twistrek and why did you choose sunglasses?
Caitlyn wanted to collaborate with Jess to do some creative work, she initially wanted to bring in everyday accessories for females however Jess was not keen on the idea. Sunglasses only came about months after exploring various ideas and delving into our common love for music festivals and loud designs.
What sort of research and development went into developing the unique Twistrek design aesthetic and what features differentiate them from other sunglasses
We spent 3 years on R&D – from studying the history of sunglasses, conducting questionnaires and focus group to find out the various pain points of sunglasses users and then consulting and engaging our licensed optometrist advisor, conducting primarily on the ground research in Korea, Italy and 3D prototyping our sunglasses. We then came up with a myriad of designs and key technical focus to improve our comfort and fit beyond what exists in the market.
Twistrek’s sunglasses was created to tackle the various struggles of sunglasses being too tight that it doesn’t fit people with wider faces, cheek touching the frame when they smile causing pores clog, red marks left on your nose and sunglasses that hooks onto your hair when you take it off ruining your look. Thus, we created Sunglasses with different curvature, nose bridge protrusion, flexible hinges, weighted temple tails and a nose paddle, protruding metal-less design that counters the current faced by users.
Our competitors offer acetate sunglasses that are one size fits all termed as the “universal” size. The universal size is created to fit an average Caucasian person, one with a higher and narrower nose bridge. However, people of Asian (east to west) and African descent tend to have lower and wider nasal bridges. This results in improperly fitted sunglasses where it is constantly sliding off their faces, cheeks touching the frames causing irritation and discomfort. This causes people to be unwilling to buy sunglasses online, settle with the discomfort or sunglasses with nose pads that leave marks on your nose, hook on to hair easily and is aesthetically unattractive to many fashion enthusiasts.
Our sunglasses were curated under the strict guidance of a licensed optometrist and nose bridge expert of over 25 years. The altered curvature, varying nose bridge protrusion and angle solves the above problem and provides superior fit and comfort.
As well as being crafted with inclusive intentionality, sustainability is also core to the brand identity. What sustainable practices do you follow to ensure that your glasses are created as ethically as possible?
Our sunglasses are handmade and utilize a bio-based and biodegradable acetate. It is made from vegetal sources such as cotton linters and wood pulp. It can also be broken down naturally by the activity of microorganisms. The degree of biodegradation of NATURA exceeds 90% after 120 days of incubation, according to the ISO 14855 standard. It is certified by Organic Waste Systems (OWS). As well as working with a smaller female owned boutique manufacturer that pays a fair wage, believes and practices inclusivity and sustainability in their processes.
What process and timescale are involved in making a pair of Twistrek sunglasses from the design stage through production to point of sale?
It took around 2 years from the design stage to point of sales. We faced a lot of problems finding the right factory as it was hard to find factories that aligned with our beliefs and were willing to work together with us to work on the new innovations as many factories preferred to manufacture conventional designs with one size only as well finding the right sustainable material. Furthermore, it was during COVID times. We were fortunate enough to eventually find a small boutique factory that aligned with our beliefs.
As friends and business partners how do you apportion roles and responsibilities within the business?
This is straightforward for us as we come from different backgrounds and expertise. Jess focuses on anything creative while Caitlyn focuses on the business and technical aspects of the brand.
We love the “Time Capsule” collection which launched last year. What was the inspiration behind it and how important is that melding of the futuristic and retro to the brand identity?
“Time Capsule” collection takes you to travel through time with the three bold thick-framed sunglasses that each represent different eras, retro, retrofuturism and the future. A collection that highlights the importance of understanding history, working on the present in hopes of creating a better future.
Furthermore, it is a time capsule to encapsulate Twistrek’s present moment for the future. The Time Capsule collection marks the start of our journey to many more experimental designs in the future.
Who is the Twistrek customer and with your glasses looking so futuristic and distinctive do you have you any concerns that aesthetic might limit their appeal to a wider market and limit the growth of the brand?
The Twistrek customer is someone who loves to explore their own individuality and identity without the need to compromise their true self. For example, customers who experience a pain point on their faces due to various face shapes but who tolerate pain for aesthetic reasons.
We are not concerned about the aesthetic being too loud as we seek to be launching pad to the artistic flair of our creators, driving them to step out of their comfort zone.
How do you want the person who wears your glasses to feel about themselves when they wear Twistrek?
We want them to OWN IT!
As we move forward into 2024 what are your ambitions and aspirations for the year ahead?
First and foremost, we would love to make crazier designs. Also, we would love to hear more from the buyers on how to improve our sunglasses and hopefully through that we are able to improve them and create more sizes if necessary.
Fun and forward-thinking designs may be the initial thing that draws the eye to Twistrek. Still, it is quickly apparent that this brand thinks deeply about humanity’s place in the world, considering that most people have complex histories, stories, and journeys consisting of more than one home. The ebbs and flows and cultural shifts, global migration and surges in urbanisation not only pull us apart at times, but they also emphasise our interconnectedness. We are all unique, we are all valid, and it is precisely these preceding stories and journeys that lie at the heart of our own. If we forget that, we forget everything that matters.
In some ways, Twistrek reflects Caitlyn and Jess, at once both exuberant and mindful. By wearing these extraordinary designs and looking through the lens of a pair of their sunglasses, we are looking more clearly at ourselves, observing, and using them not only as a tool to keep the sun out but also as one to let enlightenment in – and look super stylish while doing it.
