wolfgangproksch

The in Germany living Designer Wolfgang Proksch with a keen interest in product design, fashion, architecture, furniture, cars, jazz, contemporary art, and a passionate autograph collector, initially studied marketing, being designated the best in his year for his degree dissertation, receiving his award from the then Germany Minister for the Economy. Following a number years in management, he enjoyed success designing for the legendary Bugatti brand, among others.

His many trips abroad inspired this lover of culture to design his own collection. At the end of the 1980s, he presented his designs to the industry for the first time, at the SILMO exhibition in Paris.

Cooperation with the manufacturer “Traction Productions” from the French part of the Jura – which itself was manufacturing a highly unusual collection of eyewear, with which it was supplying actors and fashion magazines – and the rise of a small, sophisticated elite of designers on the west coast of the USA (LA Eyeworks, Oliver Peoples) and Belgium (Theo), in whose circles he moved, pushed his new brand, “Proksch’s” into undreamt-of spheres. Suddenly, people like Seal, Brad Pitt, Elton John, Catherine Zeta Jones, J. Lo, Mick Jagger, Liam Gallagher and even the “Queen of Less”, Jil Sander, were wearing models bearing his designs. Diana Kruger, whose leading roles have included playing Helen in “Troy”, viewed at the time as a walking advertisement for Armani and now treated as a supermodel and worldwide star, was photographed in the Lindberg Studios in Paris for the Proksch campaign, which subsequently appeared in all the top fashion magazines. Other internationally famous models such as Jodie Kidd were to follow, otherwise only ever to be seen on catwalks wearing famous names. Glossy journals from Italy, France, Germany, and NY’s “W” made Proksch’s new style familiar to their readers in many reports and fashion features. The hottest stores in L.A. San Francisco, New York, Paris, Milan and Tokyo displayed the glasses in their shop windows.

In 1998 and after a brief intermezzo with the Italian company Optiprojekt, which now goes under the name of “Allison”, he granted his name under license to Kaneko in Japan. The synergy of his unashamedly unpretentious design and the notorious quest for quality of the Japanese gave his products’ a unique radiance. Innovative, functional details and balanced proportions distinguished the decidedly modern style. Kaneko introduced the brand into its own “Facial Index” and “Complex Plus” flagship stores, in New York, Tokyo and Osaka. After that, the brand was handed over for several years to the company MariVision based in Sabae/Tokyo office. After that when the license which still exists today went to Chang's Optical Co. Ltd with headquarters in Taipei/Taiwan and offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

In the beginning, production took place exclusively in Fukui Pref. Japan with the Asian partners. Since Chang's license, production has been carried out with the company 999.9, one of the best manufacturers in the world. Wolfgang Proksch is now mainly responsible for creative input and the global brand image.