Known for their eccentric sunglasses and luxury jewelry pieces, fashion brand VADA introduced new partnerships ahead of their collaboration with a womenswear designer at New York Fashion Week. Jewelry designer and Vogue Fashion Fund nominee Presley Oldham collaborated with VADA to add a funky twist to the brand's signature, colorful framed eyeglasses. The P. Oldham x VADA eyewear offerings are bedecked with draping, pearl chains.

VADA showcased new styles on the runway last month in collaboration with womenswear designer Elena Velez. Velez’s punk-inspired "La Pucelle" collection debuted at New York Fashion Week. The show's full-skirted ensembles in leather and canvas were accessorized with eye-catching, beaded chains and wire-rimmed eyeglasses by VADA. 

Arkansas native Katie Caplener founded VADA as a jewelry brand in 2013. Caplener specialized in fine jewelry and luxury vintage pieces before expanding the brand with the launch of VADA Eyewear in 2020. The brand’s eyeglasses are known for their signature cellulose acetate finish and hand-wrought metal embellishments. Celebrities like Usher, Bad Bunny and Alessia Cara have worn VADA pieces.

Following VADA’s collaborations with Presley Oldham and Elena Velez for New York Fashion Week, founder Caplener shared her experiences from the runway as well as her inspiration for the brand's new collection.

Describe working with Elena Velez for the SS25 season? What surprised you?

It was a pleasure seeing VADA alongside the lovely pieces from Elena’s SS show. I appreciate her vision and the clarity she has when it comes to herself and her pieces, so refreshing to see on and off the runway.

What is a design challenge you face in the Fall collection and how did you overcome it? 

I have always had the battle of wanting to release heavily inspired pieces versus what we actually sell in the market. But using a clear scope of what we want to see available in eyewear with a tweak of inspiration is where we usually land in each collection.

Where did you travel ahead of FW24 for inspiration, and how did it play out in the designs? 

I traveled to the South of France and the familiar heart of Arkansas to calm my nerves and gather inspiration for the collection, VADA DREAM. Both locations offer something left to the imagination. The wide open spaces in Arkansas with 24-hour sex shops right off the southern interstate to the open sea in Marseille leave everything in your imagination to appear.

What inspires you about the current youth generation? 

How they have absolutely changed the social media marketing game. After seeing the Nutter Butter TikTok I’ll forever be inspired.

Is there a particular frame from FW24 you feel represents a certain recurrent mood of yours? How so? 

Hard question because VADA DREAM represents all my current moods, but color-wise FEVER, a bright island blue with neon yellow lens and LUCID, a liquid combo of unexpected dark hues, have been my favorites for this collection.

What excites you about the future? 

Everything.