EYE WEAR GLASSES

Cheap Monday matt acetate frames for 2012: the Crude Edition

2012-02-06T19:57:00.001Z

2011's trend toward matt finishes continues into 2012, as this Crude Edition from Cheap Monday illustrates. Apparently you can get face painting at grown-ups' parties too...

Ørgreen Mr White and Vincent at Copenhagen Fashion Week

2012-02-04T13:24:00.000Z

Above Mr White 343 and, below, Vincent, both by Ørgreen at this week's Copenhagen Fashion Week's CIFF Trend Show. Photos: Claus Starup.

Lunettes Kollektion 2012: Brillen brilliance from Berlin

2012-01-31T08:09:00.000Z

More from Berlin, this time in the shape of Lunettes Kollektion's new lookbook...

A bridge too far? Theo by James

2012-01-24T23:09:00.000Z

Here are some specs you're unlikely to forget. Theo has collaborated with James Van Vossel to create this unique design, a single-wire rimless frame with a memorable looping bridge. A bridge too far? No - Theo has always created some frames that stand out and long may it continue. We rarely feature rimless so it's a pleasure to find a pair which include such statement. Referring back

Cazal 9036: tomorrow's classics today?

2012-01-23T23:01:00.001Z

Cazal is brilliant. Regardless of almost every influence, Cazal has blazed a trail doing exactly what it likes. Its frames may have caught the imagination of the hip-hop scene in the 1980s and vintage models can exchange hands for hundreds of £/$/€ but it has never stopped creating breathtaking designs, something it calls "Pure Maximalism". This is new model for 2012: Cazal 9036. Also in black

A room with a Vue: Kis sunglasses

2012-01-16T13:09:00.000Z

Vue DC is a brand we need to get to know much better in 2012. You may remember we featured Lyz here for its Silmo D'Or nomination last year. We loved them and we love these: Kis. Available in three other colours...

Oliver Goldsmith white Pyramid shades from the 1960s

2012-01-15T20:40:00.002Z

These triangular white "Pyramid" sunglasses were made by Oliver Goldsmith for a campaign for a Vidal Sasson campaign in 1966 (although I've also read '68 and '72). They were designed to go with a particular haircut but I've never managed to track down a photo of the two together. Many of the original shades from that era are still available from Oliver Goldsmith here... You can also see

Upward spiral: Monoqool wins Good Design award in Chicago

2012-01-10T18:39:00.002Z

Danish spiral hinge afficionados at Monoqool have won another design award for its NXT Helix frame, above. The "Good Design"accolade, the seventh such award since Monoqool launched in March 2010, came from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. More on Monoqool's singularly cool frames here...

Kick Eyes Glasses for the partying classes: compressed felt shades

2012-01-06T06:37:00.000Z

You can never go to enough parties, so hot on the heels of Ch00ftech's New Year's Eve shutter shades comes the intriguingly named Kick Eyes Glasses, from Nono Muaks. These look great do they not!? And EWG has to create a new tag for the material: compressed felt! It bends but "never breaks". The felt shades come in pink, green, red and black. Price $9.99.

Eyekemist: acetate glasses inspired by alchemy

2012-01-05T13:10:00.000Z

Two Frenchmen, Julien DJU Vansteeger and Ludovic Edouard Dader, have combined to create the new brand Eyekemist, a small but perfectly formed collection of five acetate frames in four colours. Here we present three - top to bottom: Aeris in brown; Aqua in ruby bloody smoked red; and Aurum in purple. More models from more designers are in the pipeline for March 2012...

Who made Kanye West's shutter glasses?

2012-01-04T02:33:00.000Z

Shutter glasses, also known as Venetian blinders, were made for Kanye West by French eyewear supremo Alain Mikli. Kanye West brought them to the fore again, after a period of popularity in the 1980s, in his video Stronger. Why am I writing about them now, five years later? You'll see... The first example I found of them being worn was in Simple Minds' 1982 video Glittering Prize below...

Pulling the wool over your eyewear: Lunettes Kollektion x Cooperative Designs

2012-01-03T00:01:00.002Z

Another of our big favourites of 2011, Berlin's Lunettes Kollektion, has started the New Year well, announcing this 2012 collaboraton with London's witty knitters Cooperative Designs. Hand-crocheted spectacle chains from Cooperative Designs combine with five Lunettes sunglasses which have been transformed with lens cut-outs for the "Wish you were here" sunglass collection. Genius.

Erna glasses in Havana brown and gold dust by Fleye

2012-01-02T22:25:00.001Z

'Erna' in Havana brown and gold dust landed Danish eyewear designer Fleye an iOFT Eyewear of the Year 2012 award in the ladies glasses category. We particularly like the detail where the nosepad wire is threaded through the bridge.

RockOptika 2012: limited edition Antibes in black and gold

2012-01-01T19:00:00.002Z

We start 2012 with limited edition sunglasses from Rock Optika, one of the most exciting new eyewear brands of 2011. The model is Antibes and it comes with Christian Dalloz 24ct gold lenses... class.

Ewe Year Glasses: pure new wool and perfect stitches

2011-12-31T11:37:00.000Z

This time last year, I noticed that transposing two letters in Eye Wear Glasses made Ewe Year Glasses, which sounded a bit like New Year Glasses. In a vague attempt to justify this pun I mentioned sheep. Keen to repeat my discovery for 2012, I have again tracked down sheep-related glasses, in the shape of these Miracle Megane knitted frames. These have been made especially for Christmas

Mykita & Moncler: the best winter sunglasses for 2012?

2011-12-30T22:08:00.001Z

Sorry for the lack of posts – have been away and then Christmas kind of took over. Trust everyone's had a cracking time and you've received all the goodies you wanted! A week or so before Christmas we were lucky enough to go to Berlin and as any eyewear blogger worth his salt would do, I cheekily invited myself to see some of my favourite glasses being made at the Mykita Haus. The

Massada 2012 optical collection: Metropolis and Belle de Jour

2011-12-11T08:18:00.000Z

Massada heads to Paris to shoot its latest glasses collection, inspired by European cinema by the likes of Fritz Lang and Luis Buñuel, and in the process presents some simply beautiful frames in rich, luxurious acetate. We're particularly excited by the terrific cat's eye Metropolis. Top to bottom: Metropolis, Solaris, Belle de Jour and Sunset Boulevard, left. Below are close-ups

Oliver Goldsmith launches OG kids' sunglass range: Mini Icons

2011-12-08T10:00:00.000Z

It is refreshing to see that, at last, children are being catered for at the better end of the eyewear quality spectrum. Oliver Goldsmith joins last month's Sons + Daughters in providing high-end shades for the little guys. Oliver Goldsmith's Mini Icons collection comprises exact replicas of some of OG’s most iconic styles, such as the Carl (black/orange above) and Sophia (blue above),

Theo x Tim Van Steenbergen: the Hierro sunglass collection

2011-12-07T09:06:00.000Z

Any collaboration between Theo and Tim Van Steenbergen pleases the eye, and this fourth meeting of brands is no different: a limited edition sunglass collection, Hierro. The inspiration came from Spanish embroidery and a long-held tradition of leather working. Hierro means iron or brandmark. Every hacienda has its own logo and these sunglasses are 'branded' in metal either with a Theo or Tim

Mogadishu by L.G.R: Original frame shapes handmade in Italy

2011-12-05T22:51:00.000Z

No one else makes such a lavishly good range of sunglasses better than L.G.R, and Mogadishu, above, is one of the most original frames we've seen in a long time. The aviator lenses rotated slightly toward the bridge, while sitting in their chunky frame with a squared browline offer something unique. And of course, as you'd expect from L.G.R, some of the best acetate materials you'll ever come

Willems Wonderglasses: a pizza perfection

2011-12-04T23:14:00.000Z

This is of course a family website, so anyone of a sensitive disposition should simply enjoy the campaign image above from Willems Wonderglasses and this frame from its titanium collection, Charlotte. But for those who want to know where to buy the perfect pizza, we present this little takeaway....

Christian Dior 2011/12 glasses: the Godron statement

2011-12-03T16:47:00.000Z

Christian Dior's fall/winter 2011/12 optical collection features the Godron decoration – the parellel lines at the edge of the frame and towards the hinge. This detail, inspired by fluting on Louis XVI's chair, is also used on many vintage Dior frames and sunglasses.

Sonic sunglasses from GILES for Cutler and Gross

2011-11-30T22:55:00.001Z

These are Sonic by GILES for Cutler and Gross, the third time the British designer Giles Deacon has collaborated with C&G and they're a bit bloody good aren't they? They come in Flesh with smoky lenses, "Grubby White" with brown lenses (above) , Red with bright red lenses and Black with electric blue lenses, as shown below. They're £350 and become available in December. Meanwhile,

When the specs seem to shine like you've had too much wine, that's A-Morir

2011-11-28T22:51:00.000Z

A-Morir, the eyewear collection by Kerin Rose, is bigger and better than when we first featured them in 2009. A breath of fresh air in a world of copycat collections and me-too mediocrity. 8) Top to bot: Bootsy, Lizzy, Supreme and Sylvia Brown.

Jimmy Choo 2012 sunglasses: Belle in black

2011-11-25T20:57:00.000Z

These are Jimmy Choo Belle sunglasses in black for 2011/2012. Black Friday means there are plenty of good offers on sunnies, such as at Solstice, where all sale item can get an extra 30% off by using promo code TAKE30. Sale ends November 28, 2011. But I doubt these Jimmy Choos will be in the sale as they're brand spanking new!