brings the annual release of the new design in the series Hyakunen no Hana (Flowers of a Hundred Years), and for the design is called Contact Lens of 1970. A young woman prepares to put on a contact lens, carefully placing it on her right forefinger, and holding a small mirror in her left hand. Her hair is stylishly mid-length and curled under, and instead of a kimono, she is wearing an extremely fashionable kaftan decorated with psychedelic flowers. This vibrant robe is set against a more subtle background of Martin Teal, a particular green-blue which here shades irregularly from dark above to light below and which was also used in my release Hagoromo (The Feathered Robe).Contact Lenses were first suggested theoretically by Leonardo da Vinci, but were actually invented in the later 19th century, though of glass. Plastics were introduced in the 1930s, which allowed hard contact lenses to be lighter and less intrusive than glass, although it wasn’t until 1959 that soft contact lenses were developed, which revolutionised their comfort and wearability and lead to widespread use by around 1970. As a contact lens wearer myself, the subject is close to my heart.
