“Life should always be fun and quirky,” says Hong Kong-based sunglasses designer René Chu. Her line of acetate frames, aptly dubbed Revé by René (a play on the French word for “dream”), is joie de vivre realized. With an unconventional, playful appeal, her unisex prototypes took months to master, and boast removable, magnetic cat ears (on Make Me Meow, above) and screw-on talons (on Beautiful Monster).
A former model and graduate of Los Angeles’ Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Chu has amassed an impressive group of stockists, including Colette in Paris and 10 Corso Como in Seoul. Her wares begin at $320.
“You’ll be surprised how effective putting a set of ears on someone can be in transforming them into a completely different character,” Chu tells us. These transformative qualities were inspired both by the laid-back lifestyle of Los Angeles and the modern dynamism of her second home, Hong Kong.
At the moment, Chu is working on perfecting a pair of oversize aviators and finalizing some particularly fantastical sunnies, which will feature a detachable unicorn horn. Sounds like the stuff that fashion rêves are made of.
