glasses have history

Bausch & Lomb

Born in Rochester, New York

1. 1930sRay-BanThe company develops Ray-Ban sunglasses for pilots.
2. 1971Soft lensesBausch & Lomb receives the first US approval for a soft contact lens.

Two world wars turned Bausch & Lomb into a maker of field glasses and rangefinders, not just spectacles.

Gouverneur Audigier

Born in Morez, France

1. 1903AudigierWith the arrival of Clément Gouverneur's son-in-law, the company becomes Gouverneur-Audigier.

Morez still calls itself the French capital of eyewear.

Marius Morel

Born in Morez, France

1. 1930sMarius MorelMarius Morel buys factories and machines and starts making frames on a large scale.
2. 1957The cat's headJacques Morel creates the hallmark for gold-filled frames: a capital M topped with a cat's head.

The family company still designs its frames in the Jura.

Dunhill

Born in London

1. 1907Duke StreetHe opens his tobacco shop in St James's, London.
2. 1920sThe UniqueThe Dunhill Unique lighter can be lit with one hand.

Dunhill's Motorities sold goggles to drivers in the very first years of the car.

Swarovski

Born in Wattens, Austria

1. 1892The machineDaniel Swarovski patents an electric machine that cuts crystal with new precision.
2. 1956Aurora BorealisWith Christian Dior, Swarovski develops the shimmering Aurora Borealis crystal.

In 2022 Swarovski appointed its first chief executive from outside the family, after 127 years of family leadership.

Zegna

Born in Trivero, Italy

1. 1968The suitZegna begins making ready-to-wear suits.
2. 1993Oasi ZegnaThe family opens a nature reserve in the mountains above the mill.

The family planted half a million trees around the mill, now a nature reserve.

Moscot

Born in New York

1. 1899Orchard StreetHyman Moscot sells spectacles from a pushcart on the Lower East Side.
2. 1936Orchard & DelanceyThe shop moves to the corner that becomes a Lower East Side landmark.

Moscot calls Johnny Depp the Lemtosh's most iconic loyalist.

Persol

Born in Turin

1. 1957The 649Designed for Turin's tram drivers. Later Marcello Mastroianni wears it in Divorce, Italian Style.
2. 1968The 714Steve McQueen wears the folding 714 in The Thomas Crown Affair.

Look for the silver arrow on the temple. It started as a functional hinge and became the house signature.

Gucci

Born in Florence

1. 1953New York storeAldo Gucci opens the first American Gucci store in New York, at the Savoy Plaza Hotel.
2. 1966FloraThe Flora print is drawn for Grace Kelly, as a silk scarf.

Jackie Kennedy carried Gucci so often that one of its bags was renamed the Jackie.

Fendi

Born in Rome

1. 1965LagerfeldKarl Lagerfeld arrives and draws the double F logo. He stays 54 years.
2. 1997The BaguetteSilvia Venturini Fendi designs the bag made famous by Sex and the City.

Lagerfeld worked with Fendi longer than any designer has worked with any house.

Web Eyewear

Born in Longarone, Italy

1. 1930sPilot framesBorn from the eyewear worn by the first civil aviation pilots.
2. 2008MarcolinWeb becomes a house brand of Marcolin, the Italian eyewear group in Longarone.

The partnership came with a capsule collection of sunglasses and optical frames, which is where the Alfa Romeo F1 Team pieces in our shop come from.

Alga-Rimway

Born in Hackney Wick, London

1. 1946The NHSAfter the war Algha makes frames for the free National Health Service.
2. 1988Savile RowFree NHS glasses end overnight, and the factory reinvents itself with its own label, Savile Row Eyewear.

Algha is the last spectacle frame factory in the UK, and some of the machines brought over from Germany in 1932 still run.

Nina Ricci

Born in Paris

1. 1948L'Air du TempsThe perfume with two doves on the bottle becomes a classic.
2. 1998PuigThe Spanish group Puig takes over the house.

Lacoste

Born in Paris

1. 1925WimbledonRené Lacoste wins Wimbledon, one of his seven Grand Slam singles titles.
2. 1927The crocodileThe press nicknames René Lacoste the Crocodile. His friend Robert George draws the logo.

René Lacoste also invented the tennis ball machine and the steel racket.

Ray-Ban

Born in Rochester, New York

1. 1952The WayfarerThe Wayfarer arrives in moulded plastic and becomes a design classic.
2. 1983Risky BusinessTom Cruise wears Wayfarers in Risky Business, and Wayfarer sales rise to about 360,000 pairs that year.

Ray-Ban literally means banning the rays: the brand began as eye protection, not fashion.

Balmain

Born in Paris

1. 1955LagerfeldA young Karl Lagerfeld starts as Pierre Balmain's assistant.
2. 2011RousteingOlivier Rousteing becomes creative director at 25.

Pierre Balmain called dressmaking "the architecture of movement".

Celine

Born in Paris

1. 2008Phoebe PhiloPhilo's minimal decade turns Celine into a cult house.
2. 2017ThéliosCeline eyewear moves from Safilo to Thélios, the new eyewear house of LVMH and Marcolin.

The house began with children's shoes, decades before its first sunglasses.

Dior

Born in Paris

1. 1947The New LookChristian Dior's first collection changes the silhouette of a whole era.
2. 1957Saint LaurentA 21 year old Yves Saint Laurent takes over the house.

The name New Look came from Harper's Bazaar editor Carmel Snow: "Your dresses have such a new look."

Emilio Pucci

Born in Florence

1. 1950sCapriSilk prints in electric colours become the uniform of the Italian Riviera.
2. 1965BraniffPucci designs space-age uniforms for the hostesses of Braniff airline.

Marilyn Monroe loved Pucci so much that she was buried in one of his dresses.

Chloé

Born in Paris

1. 1964LagerfeldA young Karl Lagerfeld joins the design team.
2. 1997McCartneyStella McCartney becomes creative director at 25.

Gaby Aghion named the house after her friend Chloé Huysmans, rather than use her own name.

Givenchy

Born in Paris

1. 1961AudreyHe dresses Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany's, including the little black dress.
2. 1996McQueenAlexander McQueen becomes creative director at 27.

Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn met in 1953 and stayed friends until her death in 1993.

Moncler

Born in Monestier-de-Clermont

1. 1954K2The Italian expedition that first climbs K2 wears Moncler.
2. 2003Remo RuffiniRemo Ruffini takes over and turns mountain gear into luxury.

Moncler made sleeping bags and tents before it ever made a jacket.

Valentino

Born in Rome

1. 1968The white collectionAn all-white collection. Jackie Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis in Valentino that year.
2. 2008The last showValentino Garavani presents his final couture collection in Paris.

Valentino red is a colour of its own, inspired by a production of Carmen he saw in Barcelona.

Yves Saint Laurent

Born in Paris

1. 1966Le SmokingThe first tuxedo for women, and the Rive Gauche ready-to-wear boutique.
2. 1983The MetHe becomes the first living designer with a solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He was 21 when he took over the house of Dior in 1957, after Christian Dior's sudden death.

McLaren

Born in Woking, England

1. 1966MonacoMcLaren starts its first Formula 1 race.
2. 1988Senna and ProstMcLaren wins 15 of the 16 Grand Prix races of the season.

McLaren later built the F1, for years the fastest road car in the world.

Oilily

Born in Alkmaar

1. 2009A pauseAfter growing into an international label, Oilily goes bankrupt. Founder Willem Olsthoorn buys the name back.
2. 2010Back homeThe brand relaunches.

Oilily became one of the best known Dutch fashion names in the world.

Nike

Born in Oregon

1. 1971The swooshStudent Carolyn Davidson draws the swoosh for 35 dollars.
2. 1985Air JordanThe first Air Jordan arrives.

Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory.

Ralph Lauren

Born in New York

1. 1972The polo shirtThe polo shirt with the small player arrives.
2. 1974GatsbyLauren dresses Robert Redford for The Great Gatsby.

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx and never went to fashion school.

Eyevan 7285

Born in Tokyo

1. 1985World debutEyevan presents itself to the world.
2. 2013Eyevan 7285A new team rebuilds the brand from its archives, made by hand in Sabae.

The frames are made in Fukui, the region where almost every Japanese frame is made.

Porsche Design

Born in Stuttgart

1. 1963The 911Ferdinand Alexander Porsche designs the shape of the Porsche 911.
2. 1974Zell am SeeF.A. Porsche moves the Porsche Design Studio from Stuttgart to Zell am See in Austria.

The man who drew the 911 also designed sunglasses, watches and pens.

Prodesign Denmark

Born in Denmark

1. 2023Fifty yearsProdesign turns 50, now part of Design Eyewear Group with Kilsgaard and William Morris London.

Danish eyewear is known for doing the most with the least. This frame is a good example.

Randolph

Born in Massachusetts

1. 1939NavigatorFounder Jan Waszkiewicz escapes Poland and flies as a navigator for the British air force.
2. 1982The militaryRandolph becomes a supplier of flight glasses to the US armed forces.

Randolph still makes its aviators in Massachusetts, largely by hand.

Giorgio Armani

Born in Milan

1. 1980American GigoloRichard Gere's Armani wardrobe makes the soft suit world famous.
2. 1988Armani eyewearArmani signs an eyewear licence with Luxottica, launching Armani glasses worldwide.

Before fashion, Giorgio Armani studied medicine and dressed shop windows at La Rinascente in Milan.

Oakley

Born in California

1. 1984EyeshadesOakley's first sunglasses, made for athletes.
2. 1985FrogskinsThe Frogskins bring Oakley from the race track to the street.

Oakley is named after Jim Jannard's dog, an English setter called Oakley Anne.

Alain Mikli

Born in Paris

1. 1996Starck EyesHe produces Philippe Starck's eyewear with the flexible Biolink hinge.
2. 2013LuxotticaLuxottica acquires the house.

Versace

Born in Milan

1. 1994The safety pin dressElizabeth Hurley wears Versace to a premiere and becomes famous overnight.
2. 1997DonatellaAfter Gianni's death, his sister Donatella becomes creative director.

Donatella Versace recalls that Gianni chose Medusa because whoever falls in love with her cannot escape her.

Roman Rothschild

Born in Switzerland

1. 1980sGoldThe Swiss house makes its name with gold-plated frames, often 18K or 20K, many of them made in Japan.
2. 1991The nameRoman Rothschild AG registers its trademark for spectacle frames in the United States.

Collectors still hunt for 1980s Roman Rothschild frames, best of all unworn and in their original case.

Guess

Born in Los Angeles

1. 1985Back to the FutureMarty McFly wears Guess denim, and the black and white ads begin.
2. 1989ClaudiaBlack and white campaigns make Claudia Schiffer a star.

The Guess campaigns launched the careers of Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith.

Michael Kors

Born in New York

1. 1997CelineHe becomes Celine's first women's ready-to-wear designer.
2. 2004Project RunwayHe joins the judges of the very first season.

At 19 he was already designing for, and dressing the windows of, Lothar's boutique on 57th Street.

John Galliano

Born in London

1. 1995GivenchyHe becomes the first British designer to lead a French couture house.
2. 1996DiorHe becomes creative director of Christian Dior.

John Galliano was born in Gibraltar in 1960 and grew up in South London.

Dolce & Gabbana

Born in Milan

1. 1990MenswearTheir first men's collection.
2. 1993The Girlie ShowThey design the costumes for Madonna's world tour.

Sicily is in everything they make: lace, leopard, lemons and church gold.

Dyrberg/Kern

Born in Denmark

1. 1990JewelleryThe house focuses fully on fashion jewellery.
2. 2001Export awardDyrberg/Kern wins the King Frederik IX Award for Excellence in Export.

Dyrberg/Kern frames borrow details from jewellery: small stones, fine metal, careful finishes.

J.F. Rey

Born in Marseille

1. 1980sFirst designsJean-François Rey draws the frames that the brand's 1985 collection reissues today.
2. 2025Forty yearsJ.F. Rey celebrates forty years of eyewear.

The frames are made in a factory in the Jura, France's eyewear region.

Bikkembergs

Born in Antwerp

1. 1989ParisHis first full menswear collection shows in Paris.
2. 2003Inter MilanHe is the first designer to dress a top football club, Inter Milan, off the pitch.

The Antwerp Six got their name after showing together in London in the mid-1980s.

Oliver Peoples

Born in Los Angeles

1. 1999Fight ClubBrad Pitt wears Oliver Peoples sunglasses as Tyler Durden in Fight Club.
2. 2006OakleyOakley buys the company. A year later both become part of Luxottica.

The house is named after Oliver Peoples, the man whose collection of unworn vintage frames Larry Leight bought.

Théo

Born in Antwerp

1. 1987First launchPatrick Hoet and Wim Somers hold a private launch of their own frames, the start of theo.
2. 2013Factory 900theo and Japanese maker Factory 900 make a joint collection: 1,000 pairs of each frame.

Antwerp gave the world the Antwerp Six in fashion, and Théo in eyewear.

Marni

Born in Milan

1. 2012OTBRenzo Rosso's OTB group becomes the majority owner.
2. 2016RissoFrancesco Risso becomes creative director.

Marni became known for print and colour that never feel loud.

Liu Jo

Born in Carpi, Italy

1. 2011Kate MossKate Moss fronts the spring summer campaign.
2. 2016BolognaLiu Jo becomes sponsor of football club Bologna.

Carpi, a small town near Modena, has been a knitwear centre for generations.

Extè

Born in Milan

ic! berlin

Born in Berlin

1. 2003The splitThe founders part ways. Haffmans and Gottschling go on to start MYKITA.

The hinge clicks together without a single screw, so it never works loose.

S+arck

Born in Paris

1. 1982The ÉlyséePhilippe Starck redesigns President Mitterrand's private rooms at the Élysée Palace.
2. 1990Juicy SalifHe designs the spider-like lemon squeezer for Alessi.

Starck has designed everything from lemon squeezers to yachts. His glasses follow the same idea: less, but cleverer.

Ørgreen

Born in Copenhagen

1. 2002OpticalThe first prescription collection, in Japanese-made titanium.
2. 2011The SwanØrgreen dresses Arne Jacobsen's 1958 Swan chair with the Copenhagen skyline, with Fritz Hansen.

Every frame is designed in Copenhagen and finished by hand in Japan.

Christian Audigier

Born in Los Angeles

1. 1958AvignonChristian Audigier is born on 21 May in Avignon, France.
2. Early 2000sVon DutchAudigier turns the Von Dutch trucker cap into a celebrity uniform.

Before his own name he was the force behind Von Dutch, the trucker cap of the early 2000s.

Entourage of 7

Born in Los Angeles

1. 2009EuropeThe first European office opens, in the Netherlands.
2. 2013Bellinger HouseThe brand joins Danish eyewear house Bellinger. Jakob Talbo stays head of design.

The frames are made in Japan, with double-riveted hinges and beta titanium.

Victoria Beckham

Born in London

1. 2007SaksHer dVb range, sunglasses included, launches at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, a year before her first fashion collection.
2. 2011Designer Brand of the YearHer label wins the award at the British Fashion Awards.

Garrett Leight California

Born in Venice, California

His father, Larry Leight, founded Oliver Peoples.

Dick Moby

Born in Amsterdam

The name is a wink at Moby Dick: the brand began with a love for clean oceans.

Brett

Born in France

1. 1967FastbackThe Ford Mustang Fastback, the car behind Brett's FASTBACK collection.
2. 1971The Persuaders!Roger Moore plays Brett Sinclair, the gentleman driver the brand looks back to.

Most Brett frames are made from Grade 1 Japanese titanium.

MÆNS Originals

Designed in the Netherlands

1. 2025The houseFemke and her father Ton start MÆNS: one eye for design, one for how a frame is made.
2. 202614 MayThe Originals launch at Studio Ato. Twenty pieces, friends, one try per photo.

Every Original is hand-finished acetate, designed to be worn every day for years.