Remember the gnome glasses Elton wore at the L.A. premiere of Gnomeo and
Juliet in 2011?
Rocket Pictures‘ Steve Hamilton-Shaw told
Eltonjohnworld.com‘s editor the spectacles were fashioned by their production manager. This
was a switch for Karen de Jong, better known for being an art director on
Gnomeo and Juliet and for being involved with visual development on Chicken
Little in 2005.
Earlier this year, Elton wore another unique pair of glasses, made specially for when he performed at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station inaugural summer party.
Charlotte Hessey, Media Manager at Battersea Power Station Development
Company, explained to Cheryl’s Specials:
”The glasses that Elton wore were in fact bespoke, Larke Optics Battersea
Power Station chimney glasses,” she said.
”They were a gift from us to Elton. I am afraid I do not know
specifically what has become of them but we hope that Elton will have kept
them and added them to his extensive glasses collection.”
Larke creative director Laura Nicholson was given the assignment.
According to a company statement, ”The one off, custom made frames were
hand carved in the unmistakable skyline of the power station and its famous
chimneys, and assembled in a chic monochrome palette of juxtaposing matt
black and pearlescent white. To finish, they were hand embellished with
over 300 individual Swarovski crystals that undoubtably culminated in a
statement frame embodying monochrome glamour on an industrial scale.”
The event was attended by an intimate list of just 2,000 guests,
including Grace Jones, Eva Herzigova and Ian McKellan.
Of course, Elton has long been known for his flashy eyewear. In the seventies, one man who helped with many of his special requests was Hans Fiebig, who co-owned Optique Boutique on the Sunset Strip.
Fiebig’s daughter, Regina Davis, told EJW a few years ago:
”With the singer’s creative ideas and my father’s know-how, it was an amazing time. You have to remember this is way before computers – so much of this had to be done by hand!
”Dad remembers that someone said, ‘If Vegas can have all these large custom signs, why couldn’t we have that done on a smaller scale – have Elton’s name made as a sign and put his prescription in it?’
So Dad found a way to have this made in Vegas and of course he made the perscription. There were so many glasses that came after that – with feathers and mink, mini-windshield wipers, stars and clouds. These had to be hand-cut and dyed.”
Even today, Hans still deals with top names, as he is conveniently located near Paramount Studios.
