Crystal clear Cazal 642, 644 and 656

Cazal has re-issued these three 1990s sunnies in clear crystal actetate. He wears Cazal 656, a style inspired by the legendary Cazal 642, and created in collaboration with New York streetdance artist Dameion “Rhythm Child” Williams.

Meanwhile, she wears Cazal 644, originally launched in 1991, while nobody wears the aforementioned Cazal 642 from where one can spot the influence on its cousin the 656.

 

The Brechin sunglasses from The Leisure Society

Sunglasses don't come better than these: Brechin from The Leisure Society. The build quality of all Leisure Society eyewear is second to none. Handmade in Japan, these exquisite shades are available in brown with 18k gold (above),  black with 12k silver, or Sahara with 12k silver. They will cost you $795 but believe us, they're worth it.

Dsquared2 sunglasses FW 2012: design with decor

Dsquared2 sunglasses for Fall/Winter 2012. Am loving the influence of a-morir and Mercura NYC on the big brands.

Is everyone getting a little braver?

IF and Co x Vintage Frames Company Ultra Goliath 2 diamond edition sunglasses

Okay, so we feature a fair few expensive frames on Eye Wear Glasses, but none have yet matched this.

This is a diamond edition Ultra Goliath 2 from Corey Shapiro's Vintage Frame Company in collaboration with Ben Baller's Internally Flawless & Co.

Using the Vintage Frames Company's Ultra Goliath 2 sunglasses as the base, the If and Co team reconstructed the frame using VS-quality diamonds and a lot of gold. Over 2,000 round brilliant diamonds totalling 15 carats are set into 65 grams of gold.

The price?

$25,000.

(Please mention Eye Wear Glasses when you place your order (!))

Sunglasses go bi for Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm

Mykita and Bernhard Willhelm continue to deliver the goods, this time in the shape of Rosi, available in bi-color (top). Also available in straight orange, white, matt black, blue, gold or silver, with mirrored lenses in the same colour.

Cazal 9036: tomorrow's classics today?

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/gold and brown/gold.

Who made Kanye West's shutter glasses?

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...

You'll see that the original 1980s frame above – image from my review of Moss Lipow's excellent book Eyewear and courtesy of Taschen – and the gold one in the Simple Minds video had only a narrow frame at the temples and is quite different to the Stronger aviator-shaped white pair worn by the Kanye West .

Others have made them too.

Indeed there's a company called Shutter Shades who churns them out in every colour.

And Mykita collaborated with Romain Kremer for this version, left,  in stainless steel.

But I think, partly because of his amazing blog post on how he did it, my favourite is Ch00ftech Industries who adapted a pair for 2012 New Year's Eve partying...

RockOptika 2012: limited edition Antibes in black and gold

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.

Christian Dior 2011/12 glasses: the Godron statement

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.

Kelis in gold and black Chanel sunglasses at London Fashion Week

Photo: Jill Carin Adams, StreetStyle London

Kelis wore these Wayfarer-like sunnies last weekend at London Fashion Week, but who are they by? With thanks to Jill at StreetStyle London for the image and for her great LFW coverage!

UPDATE – 2 Oct 2011
Thanks to everyone who suggested who these were by. Julia at Gogosha Optique in LA came up trumps with Chanel. I should coco!

More is more with Mercura NYC sunglasses

Natalie wears Mercura NYC - always a pleasure to feature its creations here!

Finest Seven sunglasses: luxury collection launches in London

Finest Seven launches next month in London with a rather stunning collection of v. high- end sunglasses (Harvey Nichols to begin with) and a rather impressive pedigree in good eyewear design.

New Zealand-born Jesse Stevens has designed for EWG favourites Cutler & Gross, Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses and Prada.

"Finest Seven" refers to the the key aspects of eyewear production: components, lenses, materials, finish, design, comfort and manufacture. The first range consists of six styles featuring precious metals such as platinum and yellow gold, as well as top-quality acetate in exclusive colours such as chestnut and plum.

Prices start at £495.

B wears vintage Carrera aviator glasses in Soho

Thanks to B for being happy to let me snap him in his vintage Carrera glasses in Soho, London at the weekend. He bought them on eBay. He purchased wisely! I'm not sure how old these are - any ideas?

Are these the best glasses of 2011? Mykita Holly and Elsa

Want specs that nod at the 1950s and 60s (which is of course v good), but don't make you look like old snaps of your grandma? Then get your peepers round Holly and Elsa from EWG favourite Mykita.

Amazingly, Mykita has been going for less than seven years' but it has already established itself as one of most innovative manufacturers - and one of the coolest designers - in the world.

Above is Holly in gold and light blue, an addition to the No.1 collection, while below is Elsa, from Mykita No. 2. If you like the look, go and find a pair and fold those hinges. For a rave on Mykita hinges looky here...

Available from any optician with taste.

Lotho Clark, Lola and Camille sunglasses

Remember Lotho? Of course you do - who could forget  Yuwano?

Here we have a modern take on a classic look, Clark, left.

Next the beautifully coloured and strikingly shaped Lola.

Finally Lotho Eyewear's Camille demonstrates, just like the last time we featured them, a true design edge...

Vintage Frames Shop by Caviar exotic wood collection

TheVintage Frames Company and Caviar have come together to create these rose-tinted limited edition wooden sunglasses, available exclusively from the Vintage Frames Shop.

Leisure Society luxury eyewear - the best keeps getting better

When I ventured over to Paris, one of the most interesting collections I came across was a new one: Leisure Society by Shane Baum.

Shane is the man behind many an amazing pair of glasses. Not only has he developed a cutting-edge eye fashion business, working making eyewear for brands such as Paul Frank and Modern Amusement, but he's also worked in conjunction with some of the biggest names in fashion, including Louis Vuitton.

It was particularly impressed to find that Shane had worked on the "Bling Bindi" shades that featured here back when we started.

Shane knows good stuff when he sees it so when I heard the Leisure Society was a top-notch luxury collection  I knew I would not be disappointed.

Believe me, these frames are incredible.

They're some of the coolest, most up-to-the-second designs around, and they are beautifully made. Titanium frame plated with 12-18 and 24-carat gold with detail that you need a magnifying glass to truly appreciate, the Leisure Society is only available in some of the best opticians in the world...

Parasite - fittingly different eyewear for 2011

Think these are a bit different? Then get your peepers around this lot from what is certainly France's and probably the world's most original glasses designers, Parasite Eyewear.

Note the unusual split temple design that travels not behind the ears, but to just before the ear and then up high on the temple. It looks unusual, but feels unusually comfortable should you ever try a pair. And unlike most ordinary eyewear these glasses don't slip off once you bend down to tie your shoelace.

What's more Parasite has some pretty sharp, some-might-say-1980s (although 2010s is most accurate) innovative designs.

The first of this next bunch, Varana, is brilliantly inspired by Mexican wrestling - can they're be a more modern take on the cat's eye?

Bold Super Ilaria futuristic retro sunglasses

Retro Super Future has a habit of getting it right. Ilaria, a Super special edition of the Lucia, goes on sale on 20 September, with only 170 available.

Maybach Eyewear: horn, wood, leather and gold luxury eyewear... titanium too!

Next month's Silmo show in Paris means there are plenty of new glasses acoming. And new names too. Here luxury car brand Maybach releases a few pictures from its first collection of luxury Maybach Eyewear, to be previewed next month and available to consumers at the end of October.

A ready-to-wear collection comprises eight sunglasses and 10 spectacle frames. Then, the Individual products can be bespoke using wood, horn, 18-carat gold...

 No price list as yet, but suffice to say, Maybach cars sell for £500,000+ - these will not be the kind of sunglasses you lose.