Heritage Vol. 3: a love letter to Africa

The iconic Catalan brand makes it hard to resist the call of nature. After celebrating audacity with Bold, allowing us to dream with Dream and paying tribute to iconic Spanish club FC Barcelona with Anatomy, Etnia Barcelona takes us to Africa to unveil unprecedented daring new eyewear. The common feature running through the collection is a print that we usually see on the back of a mammal from the equine family: the Zebra. A wild detail whose fashion potential is sure to get people talking.

Etnia Barcelona does zebra

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the brand designed a series of irresistible collections.

Firstly, it re-released the iconic Chess range, followed by a collection of blue and monochrome glasses. Volume three is a tribute to “Wild Love in Africa”, one of the most iconic collections in the brand’s history. Which explains why it chose a zebra print as the focal point for the collection. Frames with solar lenses embrace stunning stripes, bringing updated, colourful styles to life.

The brand has revamped its iconic shapes like the round Khalo, square Kennedy and rectangular Kubrick frames, dressing them in chic but incredibly fun shades. The elegant black Khako BKZE frames instantly become wilder when you add a zebra effect to the back.

Then, on the other end of the scale, we have Kennedy ZEGR, an ambitious style in flashy green and yellow tones. It is one of the key colour combos from the collection which also includes a stunning pink and orange duo. Bold colourways are Etnia Barcelona’s signature and are perfect for injecting energy into summer looks.

Moroccan Mirage

For its campaign, the Spanish brand once again chose an artist with a powerful, magnetic universe: Mous Lamrabat, a Moroccan photographer based in Belgium.

For his second collaboration with the brand, he drew inspiration from his home culture, dressing the models in traditional Moroccan clothes, like the kaftan or fez, the famous head covering. Clearly, the photographer also had fun turning typically Moroccan everyday objects – a floral blanket, mint and the magic green lipstick – into on-trend pieces that showcase the models and glasses.

This original, festive tribute in the heart of the desert once again proves that Etnia Barcelona sees its creations as real works of art. Every detail is carefully thought-out and refined, from the material and style of the frames to the campaign images.

The goal? Stay true to its guiding principle and ambition to be a brand “that caters for everyone and all forms of expression through art and color”. And as always it is succeeding hands down!

Available here.

written by Joy McCain