One night. One night was all Hollywood had off after the Oscars before the partying began again Tuesday with Roger Federer and Oliver Peoples taking over the Sunset Tower to celebrate their collaboration with Maria Sharapova, Lindsey Vonn, Sharon Stone, Trevor Noah, Alessandra Ambrosio and more.
“It’s one thing onto the next…always going, going, going,” said Federer, who debuted his Mr. Federer frames Sunday on the Oscars red carpet. All smiles and charming to no end, he was back in the spotlight 48 hours later for the swanky dinner, posing for photos with well-wishers in front of glass pillars filled with Oliver Peoples-emblazoned tennis balls.
“I had a great time,” he said of attending the Academy Awards, styled by longtime collaborator Jim Moore in a white Prada dinner jacket and black pants.
Moore was also on hand to celebrate the eyewear, as were a few other stylists, surprisingly still standing after the marathon awards season.
“I’ve been having the most fun, the last nine months have just been insane,” said stylist Andrew Mukamel, coming off dressing Margot Robbie for the “Barbie” press tour and awards season, and launching the new Rizzoli book “Barbie: The World Tour.” “I just hope everyone loves it, it was such a labor of love, and Margot and I threw ourselves into it,” Mukamel said of the book, adding of the guest of honor, Federer, “I’m obsessed, I gotta get a picture.”
Stylist Petra Flannery was enjoying a well-deserved drink at the bar following her run with “Poor Things” Oscar winner Emma Stone. Flannery admitted that over the last 48 hours everyone has been wanting to know how Stone’s Louis Vuitton gown ripped just before she walked onstage to accept her Best Actress trophy.
“Stuff happens,” Flannery said, adding that Stone took it in stride. Indeed, the actress delivered the perfect line at the podium: “I think it happened during ‘I’m Just Ken.’” What a pro!
Artist Alex Israel was also in the mix, wearing his sunglasses at night. “They’re called Oliver, a classic style of the brand,” he said.
“Thanks, Alex,” said Oliver Peoples senior designer Lise Tyler, who has been with the brand for 30 years and worked with Federer on the collection, which emphasizes function and fashion with lightweight materials and performance enhancing lenses.
“This has been an amazing journey, and we are just getting started,” said Oliver Peoples chief executive officer Rocco Basilico, toasting the two-year partnership with the tennis legend, who retired in 2022.
“I have done many collaborations before with many other brands, but this felt natural, very simple, straightforward and easy,” Federer said. “I love the product myself, I think it came out really beautiful. I cannot wait to see people wear it in the streets and put their twist on it with their fashion sense so I will be following that closely.”
Federer does not travel to the West Coast very often, but the first time he did, it made an impression.
“I remember the first time I landed in L.A. in 2004, I just had won the U.S. Open and my friend told me I should stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel; OK, I stayed there. I went to Rodeo Drive because that’s what you do and there was a guy standing there and he didn’t recognize me but he looked at me and said, ‘You know, you can be an actor,’” Federer told the crowd, which erupted in laughter. “I did not become an actor, I don’t know what that man is doing today, but what I do know is that I have a billboard right outside the hotel and a great eyewear collection with Oliver Peoples.”
No rest for the fashionable, Federer is due to shoot his second Oliver Peoples campaign in L.A. this week.
Oliver Peoples was founded in 1987 with the opening of its first boutique in West Hollywood, and has blended elements of fashion, film, art, music, and Southern California lifestyle to become a global powerhouse now owned by Luxottica. The company currently has distribution in more than 60 countries, operates 41 retail stores and has launched collaborations with Brunello Cucinelli, The Row, Khaite, the Cary Grant Estate and many more.
For Federer’s first collection of optical and sunglasses, $390 to $502, he focused on six styles to suit lifestyle and sport, including a shield silhouette designed to accompany him mountain biking, with custom lenses and rubber grip details on the ears and nose.
Notably, every pair weighs a maximum of 35 grams, and has details nodding to the super-athlete’s legacy, including a number “8” plaque representing his birthdate (8.8.81) as well as the number of his Wimbledon titles. A custom core wire pattern was developed and inspired by the threading patterns of the strings found on vintage tennis racquets. In addition, every pair features the signature RF logo on the plaque, temple tip and lenses. The collection is available at Oliver Peoples stores and select wholesale accounts.
