PRESS RELEASE

Designer Glasses from the World Champion

Jérôme Boateng presents his first own collection #DefendYourStyle

Berlin, 11th May 2016 – Jérôme Boateng is not only good at football but at design as well! On Wednesday, the newly crowned German Champion teamed up with online optician Edel-Optics to present his own collection of sunglasses and prescription glasses to the public for the first time. And of course this took place in his home city.

For his #DefendYourStyle collection, the professional footballer designed six exclusive unisex models in the fashionable colours of Gold, Black, Grey, Gun and Havana – including a frame for children. Boateng took inspiration from his own career: “The models are named after places that mean a lot to me: Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Manchester, New York and Rio de Janeiro, the cities of my life,” explained the 27-year-old, who was voted the “most stylish man in Germany” in 2015 by GQ Magazine.

Jérôme Boateng wants to prove with this collection that he is not only one of the best central defenders in the world, but also well versed in style and design. “Besides football, fashion is my great passion, and glasses are definitely a part of that. They are an important part of the outfit. I can use them to add a special touch or create a contrast to whatever look I am creating,” said Boateng in Berlin on Wednesday.

Berlin, where the World Champion spent most of his childhood and where his footballing career started at Hertha BSC, inspired Boateng to create the on-trend “JB Berlin” model with angular contours and a double bridge. By contrast, “JB Hamburg” displays a retro style with a keyhole bridge – Hamburg being the second stage along Boateng’s journey as a professional footballer. His spell at the English Premier League club Manchester City FC is reflected in the classic “JB Manchester” pilot glasses, which Boateng reinterpreted by incorporating an acetate bridge. For the “JB Munich” model, named after his current club FC Bayern Munich, the young designer chose round lenses, combining a metal frame with acetate lens surrounds and a double bridge. To illustrate his close links with the Big Apple, a city in which he regularly spends time and gains inspiration from current trends, he created the “JB New York” model, which celebrates the lifestyle of the metropolis with a large masculine frame and grey lenses. Boateng immortalised his most important milestone to date, winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, in the timeless chic of the “JB Rio” model, which he specially designed exclusively for children.

The high-quality designer glasses will be available from Edel-Optics from 12 May 2016, both online and at the Hamburg flagship store. The online optician is the exclusive distributor for the #DefendYourStyle collection. “I am very pleased that we managed to bring Jérôme Boateng on board as the designer for our collection. When it comes to making style decisions, he is just as focused as he is on the football pitch,” commented Edel-Optics Managing Director Dennis Martens. “During our collaboration, Jérôme Boateng impressed us with his fashion expertise and assured sense of style. The results speak for themselves.”

Press contact: Edel-Optics GmbH | Karina Thinius | c/o Publiplikator GmbH | Tel.: +49 30 200 898 25 Fax: +49 30 200 898 99 | Mobile: +49 170 210 61 61 | E-mail: thinius@publiplikator.de