Timo Weiland’s New Eyewear Collection Celebrates the Weekend Retreat

For all the far-reaching destinations we encourage our readers to travel to, sometimes the quick getaways end up being the most profound journeys. Whether it’s a home away from home or just a day trip, these excursions are a way to unwind and collect yourself from the bustle of a big city. That’s precisely the feeling Timo Weiland wanted to capture for their new, affordable ‘Out of Office’ eyewear collection with Zenni Optical.  The creative team of Alan Eckstein, Donna Kang, and Timo Weiland himself reflected on their favorite short trips to inform the new designs, which capture feelings such as driving down a coast or relaxing in a house upstate. “We love the idea of dressing for the weekend,” Weiland states, “You’re with the ones you love, you’re with your family, whether you’re somewhere picturesque or whether you’re cooking dinner or having a nice gathering, it’s something where…you put more thought into it.”

Speaking to us from his own out-of-office retreat at the Hasbrouck House in Upstate New York, Weiland is well aware of the value of getting away, even if it’s just for a brief moment. “That’s pretty much the essensce of the Out of Office collection, because we’re not usually able to get away for more than a night or two, and so it’s kind of that whole weekend jaunt, close-by retreat, out of office moment we were looking to.” For the Timo Weiland team, there were a few common points of reference. “We have done some stuff with the Phillip Johnson Glass House, which is just outside the city in New Canaan Connecticut, so the overall look of that environment definitely informed in an ongoing way our aesthetic, which is mid-century charm. There’s definitely a bit more eccentricity to Alan, Donna, and I than just these midcentury clean lines; there’s a bit more romance to what we do, but that definitely was one of the starting points. Beyond the Phillip Johnson Glass House, some of our mutual favorite spots are Hasbrouck House, and also the Deer Mountain Inn. We get most inspired when we do—especially around New York—quick getaways.” You can see each pair from the collection serving as the perfect accessory to an escape from the city so we asked Weiland to talk about the inspiration behind three of our favorite pairs in the collection. Check out his responses below and grab a pair at the Timo Weiland x Zenni site. The collection will also be available at special pop-ups starting with The Lead Summit in Williamsburg and SXSW, with more pop-ups to be announced.

Breezy

“For us it’s more than just New York, putting it back in the frame of inspiration, we were thinking of quick jaunts from big cities. It was not just New York, it was San Francisco, it was L.A, cities we frequent about once a month for work. The Breezy style is a Palm Springs getaway, that was the vibe. Eccentric, unisex, I personally like the amber ones, but the white ones are especially popular”

The Road Trip

“I would say [it’s for driving] down the New Jersey turnpike to Asbury Park for a great concert. There’s some quirky cool overnight stuff there as well, there’s one Asbury Park hotel we went to recently, it was so interesting, the Berkeley. Asbury is so bizarre, it has this punk rock vibe to it, almost like grunge ’90s vibe to it. The three of us at various times in our lives have done things in nightlife, so that also influences us.”

The Spree

“Really, that’s my go-to. I love the subtle tortoise, so that’s my favorite in terms of color. On the side you have tortoise, and on the front you have either black or a really deep red almost like a port wine. The contrast is very us, very Timo Weiland. I would say the Spree wearer is going to Montauk. As a pair of sunglasses, there’s nothing more Steve McQueen than a beautiful old BMW or a Porsche, to borrow one of those and cruise across Hither Hills to Montauk. That’s the dream right there.”