Profile | Loved by Rihanna, how Hong Kong eyewear brand Sons + Daughters made a splash around the world
- Sons + Daughters is a children’s eyewear brand launched in Hong Kong in 2012 by Shiva Shabani and Calvin Yu to make glasses cool for kids
- The Canadian founders talk about their concept, their goals, and how Rihanna is a big fan of their products
Launched in 2012 by Shiva Shabani and Calvin Yu, Sons + Daughters is a children’s eyewear brand based in Hong Kong that is guided by the goal of “protecting the vision of the future”.
The Canadian duo share how they founded the brand and how an email from Rihanna’s stylist led to a last-minute delivery.
How did you two meet?
Shiva Shabani: “It’s a cool story – we were very young [and met through work in Vancouver]. We dated for about 6½ years. I was in my early twenties, and Calvin was in his thirties, and we ended up coming to Hong Kong on holiday because his parents had emigrated from Hong Kong to Vancouver.
“At the time, we both said, ‘We’re going all the way to Hong Kong, why don’t we show our work and meet some like-minded people?’ That resulted in Calvin getting a job at [advertising agency] BBDO, and we moved within four months.
Why did you launch a brand focused on children’s eyewear?
Calvin Yu: “I was initially going to start an eyewear brand with a mutual friend of ours way back in the day, but it just never materialised.”
Shabani: “Calvin wanted to do something for adults, and I wanted to do something a little bit more niche.
“At the time, all of my friends were becoming mothers. Even though I didn’t have kids, I felt there wasn’t really much focus on the kids’ eyewear category that came with consideration and playfulness. I wanted to change that [negative perception].”
How did you refine the concept of Sons + Daughters?
Yu: “We wanted to create something that was all-encompassing, even down to the name, because everyone is a son or a daughter. When we planned the DNA of the brand, we based it all on icons of the past.
“I have had to wear glasses for as long as I can remember, since I was very young. Back then it was not cool, and you were made fun of. We wanted to create something that was sophisticated but fun, and could inspire kids to feel good about wearing glasses.”
Shabani: “We looked at these children as the next Bob Dylan, the next Jackie [Kennedy]. For us, it’s always been about protecting that vision of the future, about that core value of celebrating and empowering the future generation.”
Over the past 11 years you’ve achieved some milestones – tell us about them.
Shabani: “At the time [of launching], we didn’t really have any PR, nor do we have any today. Ninety per cent of our images on Instagram are truly a celebration of our community.
“Just having these incredible parents and kids interact with the product, and seeing them making it their own and enjoying it, was such a pleasure – that was a big milestone.
Watches, handbags … could sunglasses be a collectors’ item?
“There are obviously fun ones, like getting an email that said, ‘Dear Sons + Daughters, I’m a stylist for Rihanna and I love your glasses.’ It was Majesty’s birthday [Majesty is the daughter of Rihanna’s cousin, Noella Alstrom] in Los Angeles, and they wanted some glasses.
“We sent them on a Tuesday – the birthday is on a Saturday – and they get stuck in customs. We email back and say, ‘We’re so sorry, Happy Birthday to Majesty, but she’ll probably receive [them] on Monday,’ and the stylist replied saying, ‘We’ve been all over LA, we still can’t find really cool glasses and Rihanna really, really wants these.’
“At the time, I looked at the girl that had been with us for three years and asked, ‘Hey, what are you doing tomorrow at 6pm? Do you want to jump on a flight, go to LA and hand-deliver the package’? So there were definitely fun moments like that.”
What are some misconceptions about children’s eyewear?
Shabani: “One of the biggest misconceptions is that eyewear is an accessory, but at the end of the day, it’s a necessity. We make it seem very playful and fun, because that’s how it should be, but we also implement quality into our products.”
Yu: “For children’s eyewear, sometimes people just expect something inexpensive, because they think that the kids are going to lose them or break them. But what’s interesting, from our experience, is that when parents communicate to children that this is a special item, the kids also feel special wearing them and they end up taking care of them. The kids cherish them.”
What next for Sons + Daughters?
Shabani: “We plan to launch adult eyewear, to really tell the story that everyone is a son and everyone is a daughter, regardless of your age, culture, race and where you are in the world.”
