Photography by Leo Faria
The Brazilian specialist wants to change your mind about glasses
For a long time, glasses have been seen in society with a subtle but existential prejudice. With the stereotype reinforced by the media that a woman can only be beautiful when she gets rid of her glasses, this prejudice becomes increasingly veiled and normalized among children and adolescents who end up carrying this thought into adulthood.
Until recently, there were no models in advertisements wearing glasses or movie stars chasing success in New York with a collection of high-grade specs. In the media, women who need glasses seem to respond to a cliché: they have an I.Q. tall, are clumsy, and when they take off their glasses, everyone notices their beauty that was “hidden” behind the frames. We see this with the well-known Velma, from Scooby Doo and Mia, in The Princess Diaries, for example.
Despite this, after so long, the scenario has changed, and Chantal Kopenhagen Goldfinger is a crucial figure in changing these stereotypes. She is one of the world’s leading eyewear experts and champions fashion as a way to empower and enrich people’s personal brands, with the aim of changing their thinking. That’s right: for her, glasses are not just an accessory but a “necessory”(Necessary accessory).
“In a world where wearing glasses is seen as a bad thing, in a pop culture that turns women into princesses only when they take off their glasses, in a world of clichés, I saw myself as a lost teenager and found in the specs the armor that I needed to face this big, challenging world,” recalls Chantal, who nowadays uses her social networks to teach people about the importance of accessories, both aesthetically and for physical and emotional health.
Fascinated by exuberant frames from a very early age, Chantal Kopenhagen Goldfinger has a degree in cinema from FAAP, advertising and marketing from ESPM, both in Brazil, and worked as a production executive at TV Globo, the biggest Brazilian media group. She decided to leave her position in 2015 to dedicate herself to what she loves most: glasses. “I aim to change people’s thinking about the use of glasses as something fixed onto your face. “Just like bags and shoes, there is a frame for every occasion and for every personality,” says the specialist.
Chantal always says that since childhood, her taste for frames has been misunderstood. Disputed by her friends and the boys around her, they wanted her to wear something simpler. But what she really wanted was to show that glasses give identity to whatever the look is. Today, on her social networks (@chantalgoldfinger), she shows combinations that are suitable for all occasions and even gives training for the optical world to sell more. In addition, her contents serve to educate followers about fashion and trends. “Learn to dress your face,” says Chantal.
