SOMA Magazine SOMA Fall Fashion Issue Oct 15 | Page 16

Art & Design

An Exquisite Eye
Blake Kuwahara
TEXT BY NINA WHEELER

For those who know him, Blake Kuwahara is a name synony- - and continues to rise to the occasion with innovative engineermous with design, and one of those thoroughly contemporary ing and painstakingly handcrafted technique.
artists whose consideration for purpose in beauty is essential.
Thrillingly modern yet utterly wearable, his 2015 collection
Kuwahara has always been drawn to optics, a fitting relationship is a reflection of what eyeglasses by definition must be, a true
as his eye for composition and ability to translate what he sees to marriage of form and function.
what he makes has made him a creative icon. After earning his
doctorate in optometry, his desire to create gave him a natural Some of your frames are named for architects you
entryway to the design side of the business.
admire. How does architecture influence the creation of
Kuwahara’s celebrated personal style and passion for aesthet- your pieces?
ics has guided his career; from founding the design firm Focus I have great appreciation for architects and the spaces they creGroup West, to creating the award-winning KATA eyewear, to ate. I like to think I