Interview with Sahra Lysell, Ørgreen’s Senior Color Designer

Very seriously! A couple of decades from now in Scandinavia, most eyewear for guys was either very classic or totally crazy. At that time, Ørgreen decided to offer colored frames for men who were looking for something a bit more interesting than a pair of tortoiseshell specs but weren’t quite willing to go the whole Elton John way! Run by a bunch of friends with little experience in the field but a huge amount of enthusiasm and style, one can say that Ørgreen established themselves as Scandinavia’s first sunglasses and optical brand thanks to color.

Everywhere! For me, color is emotion. So the starting point is more internal. Design and color are part of our daily life and society. For that reason, you can take inspiration from anything ranging from a stroll in the narrow alleys of Copenhagen with their colorful houses, to a film or the colors decorating a Mexican graveyard for example. But I always keep in mind that the longevity of our glasses is crucial. Considering the high quality and cost of Ørgreen spectacles, I am careful not to get too involved in fashion trends and prefer to rely on my instinct and my deep knowledge of the market.

Ørgreen takes into consideration the cultural differences across the world when designing their glasses and that is the reason why their market is truly international. For example, for the Chinese market we choose to work with a gold that has a hint of red, in reference to the Chinese imperial history. On the other hand Scandinavians prefer a whiter gold. In addition to those cultural differences, skin tones are also taken into consideration when designing a range of colors. Glasses are now seen to actually enhance beauty and may even replace makeup to emphasize the eyes. Actually, the makeup world sometimes inspires me!

I work very closely with our factories and can keep a sharp eye on the creation of every pair of glasses. My collaborators are always very patient and they are used to being sent a striped feather or a Christmas bauble with my instructions to turn those colors into reality. They surely think that I am the most annoying woman on the planet; but in the end, the results are great.

The offer of a colorful life to its wearers! The company’s success has very much been based on titanium frames but we have recently started working with the more classic acetate and this has opened up a whole world of new possibilities for color schemes and combinations.

On a more futuristic note Ørgreen’s Quantum collection is made through 3-D printing. This cutting edge technology allows for the creation of polyamide frames combined with titanium branches. I cannot wait to play with all these new materials!