Etnia Barcelona Turns Twenty

20 years seeing all the hours of the day, with all the shadows and all the lights and all the beauty accumulated by each of us. 20 years, growing from guilelessness to maturity, from gratuitous rebelliousness to sensible, considered rebelliousness.

Etnia Barcelona first came into existence in 2001. It grew out of the rebelliousness of a guy who challenged the very rules of the world, bold enough to question, to say, “Why not?”, “Why on earth not?”. A questioning that has remained a constant over the last twenty years … Paraphrasing Kipling, I would say that we have succeeded in filling the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds of fierce combat, attempted to face our triumphs and our defeats in the same way, and kept our common touch while walking with kings … But, above all, we have safeguarded the feeling that is etched in fire, an intrinsic part of the DNA of the brand: Euphoria.

Some time ago now Etnia Barcelona came upon that quote of Duchamp’s, “It’s a sort of constant euphoria”, a notion with which they identified completely. Ever since, the word has remained with them, described them, echoed through the halls of their minds, in either spoken or written form. Bereft of “Euphoria”, Etnia Barcelona would never have been able to create with their wonderful colors, nor would they have taken up art as their banner, nor would they have traveled to Africa or Japan, nor hooked up with that garbage truck for their night-time tour of Manhattan. Because to Etnia Barcelona, Euphoria means taking passion to the extreme, it is joy, speed, challenge, and utopia: it is the dream of creating a group and the feeling of belonging to a tribe.

Few times have Etnia Barcelona glanced in the rear-view mirror, few times have they retrospectively analyzed their history, but today it is unavoidable to do so. But, of course, they will do so in thier own way. With scraps of pictures which together express the way they have lived the last twenty years, at a glance. A patchwork of a visual diary that may live in our memories forever, placed in a state of atrophy by our eager desire to experience the future …the future as they see it? Life is to be lived looking to the future but can only be understood by looking to the past.

“The Einstein”, “The Kennedy”, “The Kahlo” and “The Kubrick”. A collection of four different models, all brimming over with personality and crafted in natural 7 mm thick 3D Mazzucchelli acetate, with grooved steps that create a great shape and comfort for the wearer.

Etnia Barcelona’s 20th-anniversary collection celebrates the values of the Barcelona brand. A tribute to the history of the brand expressed as a collection created in the chess acetate Etnia first designed for its 2006 collection.

A collection bursting with color, the kind of colors that paved the way to success for Etnia Barcelona 20 years ago. The blending of the chess design with yellows, Klein blues, baby pinks, or moss greens, offers unique combinations. Layered acetates through which they see the inner “chess” soul, and temples that end in imposing earpiece blades, branded with a symbol created exclusively for each of the different models. An eye with rays of light, an eye with lashes, an eye, and a pyramid, or an eye with false lashes, referencing the Anthony Burgess book on which the Stanley Kubrick film, “A Clockwork Orange”, was based. Celebrating the relationship between the brand and the world of art and culture, through their collaborations with the most rebellious, boldest of artists.

The four models in the anniversary collection all carry HD color mineral lenses which offer the wearer a unique visual experience in terms of color and overall experience, just as one has come to expect from all the brand’s sunglass collections. For the campaign, Etnia Barcelona celebrates turning twenty with the most popular icons of the history of humanity, icons that have served to inspire the brand throughout its history. Icons that, if the brand had existed in their times, would surely have sported a pair of Etnia Barcelona glasses.

A unique collection to celebrate the success of Etnia Barcelona. And now they’re ready to take on the next 20 years!