"Pieces of wood, tied to your face."
This is, in essence, all that Slanties are. As sunglasses go, they are not the most functional trend the world has ever seen, but they certainly make up for their impracticality as interesting conversation starters. Based on ancient Inuit eyewear, Slanties feature natural wood eyepieces with secure elastic straps for an avant-garde style that borders on ridiculous.
Imagine giant sunglasses. Now replace the traditional shaded lenses with one uniform block of wood carved in a similar shape. Two-inch long slits interrupt the wood for eyeholes. Attach wide elastic to the ends, and voila! A bastardized cross of high fashion and ancient history is ready for the market. One wonders, when contemplating the ungainly contraption, what the designers were thinking.
Slanties is the brainchild of Gabriel Snyder, Ben Turner, Heidi Gustafson and Erin Barry-Dutru, four artists native to Baltimore. They began puttering around with the materials they had at hand and soon created a cardboard model that would later turn into the wooden frames. "We're all artists, and we're all making things all the time, making pieces with whatever we find in our lives," Snyder said. "They've been in the works for probably at least two years."
Slanties launched in Baltimore last Friday at the Windup Space. Nestled in the Station North Arts District, the Windup Space provided an atmosphere that fit the aesthetics of the product. Alcohol and artists flowed freely around the mod little bar and arts venue. The male half of the attendees tended towards the scruffy, boho-chic type, while their female counterparts cleaned up a little better. Attendees clustered about in intimate groups to get a look at the product.
Reviews so far have been mixed. Those who attended the launch seemed a little unsure of Slanties as functional sunglasses, though they tried on samples with enjoyment. As they caught their reflections in the mirror set up for that express purpose, many laughed. Others posed in front of giant, blown-up posters that featured "hip" young models sporting the frames with unbelievably straight faces.
Some attendees found them charmingly ironic, donning the samples of the oversized wooden frames cheerfully. "I think they're sort of tapping into current trends and sort of expanding it into another realm," Liz Meredith said. "I'd definitely test them out. I'm not much of an eyewear person, but I'd give them a try." Most attendees, however, expressed a little wariness at wearing the product around town, despite the artists' claim to "wear Slanties to visit your grandparents - they'll love them too."
Others viewed the venture as a sort of art project, more aesthetic than practical, to be bought and admired, but certainly not worn. A friend of the artists staunchly defended the sunglasses, saying, "I think it's smart and it could catch on - has caught on - in the media. I think it could go further, too, honestly. It's based in actual history, which makes it really solid."
Katharine Hill, wearing her own pair of Slanties, continued. "No, I don't want to wear them out. I don't think they're even functional, but I think they're like art objects. It's nice to have, nice to document and support the local artists who made them in their basement."
A strange sentiment, since the aim of sunglasses is usually to be worn. One begins to rethink the marketability of a product that can't even be seen as functional.
Surprisingly, the unconventional design is not the only thing getting media attention. A local project, Slanties has drummed up a debate and has potential buyers questioning the designers' choice of name. The name "Slanties" has been viewed by some as a racial slur against those of Asian descent. Snyder was quick to defend the title.
"Slanties is definitely not a racist product. We're really dismayed and sorry that it's been interpreted online as such. We're caught off-guard by a lot of negative blogging we've received online," he said.
"Slanties are about a slant attitude or a slanted perspective and not ever meant to be interpreted as some kind of racially insensitive slur . . . we want to engage interpretations some people have. We don't want to back away from that. We want to have a dialogue . . . It's an important process [that occurs] when you create a product or an art piece."
Despite Snyder's reassurances, most consumers believed the name to be offensive, or at best, a mistake on the artists' part. Jennifer Sterns spoke out: "I think the name is a misstep within the entire project. I came here tonight having friends who wouldn't even come because of the name of the project. I think it's extremely problematic and they really need to adjust the name."
With such criticism, even from those who otherwise support Slanties, fashion ambiguity aside, the going may be hard for the risky project. It seems it should be extremely difficult to ignore such a blatant oversight. Naming a product is essential; had no one involved in the project thought to even mention the possible negative connotations while Slanties was still in process? Even given the benefit of the doubt, Gabriel Snyder and his colleagues cannot possibly find the public outrage resulting from the unwitting racism surprising.
Whether or not Slanties succeed in today's downsizing economy remains to be seen, but one thing cannot be denied: Slanties certainly spark a lot of debate as a fashion crime, a stroke of genius or a racially insensitive reflection of a slanted lifestyle.
