Born in Vienna in 1938, La Roche joined a renowned tradition of Austrian eyewear
design whose forerunners included Udo Proksch (
aka
“Serge Kirchhofer”)
, Cari Zalloni
(Cazal)
, and Dora Demmel (Silhouette). Emerging from the creative ferment of Vienna
in the seventies and eighties, his success story is largely that of an entrepreneur.
“The La Roche brand is one of the eyewear fashion world’s first start
-ups,” as exhibition
curator Thomas Geisler put it. “From design to production to marketing, Robert
directed the entire enterprise with extraordinar
y energy and enthusiasm.”
By maintaining his own small and independent company, La Roche was able to respond
quickly with fresh designs whenever he sensed new trends developing in public taste.
The MAK will present the first retrospective on the Austrian designer Robert La Roche, whose distinct line of eyewear ( Lunettes Robert La Roche ) conquered the international fashion and film world. With a generous donation of 500 objects from La Roche’s company archive, the exhibition illuminates his unique oeuvre and unconventional path from advertising specialist to internationally celebrated eyewear couturier. A few years after drawing his first design, his glasses began appearing onscreen, worn by stars such as Meryl Streep, Kevin Costner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other prominent fans included Yoko Ono and Andy Warhol.
© Robert La Roche
The exhibition displays La Roche’s craftsmanship and branding creativity with a selection of glasses, design drawings, photographs, and advertisements....