3D printed glasses evolve with My Very Own Mykita

If you wear them, you will know that glasses come in surprisingly standard sizes. Unless you've a pinhead or a moon face, you'll probably have never really had to think about how well your specs fit.

A good optician will attempt to make sure your glasses fit properly, making sure the numbers (usually starting with 50-something) on the inside of your frame at least nominally reflect the dimensions of your head. Then they may position the nose pads, or heat the acetate temples to make them more comfortable on your head.

There are a few bespoke eyewear lines like TD Tom Davies, Indivijual, and Smith & Norbu, where the glasses are tailored to your face, but this process sometimes can take weeks before your glasses are finished.

German glasses innovator Mykita has now entered the fold with its MVO line – My Very Own, its digitally tailored frames.

MVO integrates three digital technologies: 3D scanning, parametric design (a process based on algorithms in which a frame design is adapted depending on fitting data) and 3D printing, as used in Mykita's Mylon range. These combine to create glasses where design and fit are specific to the topography of each face.

The customer begins by selecting an eyewear shape from the MVO collection featuring exclusive sunglass and prescription frames.The face is scanned and the frame is digitally adjusted to the facial contours. The colour of the frame, lenses and hinges are then selected for a truly individual pair of glasses.

In collaboration with 3D scanning specialists Volumental, the Mykita fitting process also integrates the wearer’s lens centres to create a frame perfectly tailored to the face with lenses precisely positioned in front of each eye.

All the fitting data is then sent to Mykita HQ in Berlin, where the unique glasses are handmade and then dispatched to the customer.

My Very Own will be introduced to Mykita shops and selected opticians in spring 2016.

Marimekko makes its mark on eyewear

Anyone who knows their Scandinavian textiles will know and no doubt love Marrimekko, the Finnish designers known for the perfect prints.

Good news if you're after the eyewear as it's just been launched. As you'd expect there are subtle, tasteful shapes (above) and some great colours (left).

And some even feature Marimekko prints incorporated into the design (below)... 

Fine Arts Optical in the Mission, San Francisco

The life of an occasional glasses blogger is, of course, an exciting one. And the past few weeks were no different as I headed west to California for my summer break. After a week or two of getting used to the way that most things are bigger and better than back in England, I stumbled across the Fine Arts Optical boutique in the Mission district of San Francisco.

It's the first time I've found glasses sold alongside hats - but I like it. And I loved the wide range of lovely frames on offer. Quite literally hundreds and hundreds of them - an amazing collection, many of which is handmade in the US.

Maija-Liisa, above, did a great job showing me round, and even retrieved her favourite buffalo horn frames from the special drawer by the desk, namely the Monarch, by Fine Arts itself. Rarely do you see such a light coloured horn. Price: $1200.

Well worth a visit! 888 Valencia Street.

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.

 

L.G.R. Reunion: decent black sunnies for 2015

Continuing our #DecentSunnies series, here is L.G.R, an eyewear brand renowned for its perfect acetates and knock-out lens-frame colour combinations. Here, however, I've picked out three black beauties, from the top – Reunion, Tripoli and Lola. Handmade in Italy, Zeiss lenses, say no more. Stocked all over the world.

Black Eyewear: Robert Roope's Jazz-inspired frames

As someone who for a long time wore a pair of chunky, 1950s/60s-style, black and crystal acetates by Oliver Goldsmith (Consul-S), I was always going to be an instant fan of another British brand, Black Eyewear, by Robert Roope.

“I wanted to rescue the bold, simple, iconic eyewear styles of the 1950s,” says Robert about his Jazz-inspired frames, named after greats like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.
The top frame here is dedicated to Lester Young, the bottom one after Buster Bailey.

Robert's designs currently feature in the Bright Old Things boutique inside Selfridges, but he also has his own shop at 38 Goodge Street, London. Well worth a visit.

Available online too at Black Eyewear at some very reasonable prices - expect to pay around £225, single vision lenses included.

Invest in proper sunnies this summer - Y Not?

These are Y Not, a wonderful example of what can be achieved at Oliver Goldsmith. Part of the Rainbow Collection, get some colour on your cheeks this summer. Limited edition though so be quick! Stockists worldwide here.

Kuboraum's frame within a frame...

...Or should that be mask within a mask?

We first covered Kuboraum in 2012, a new Berlin based designer with chunky Italian acetate sunglasses or, as it prefers, masks. So it was good to rediscover the brand at 100% Optical in London earlier this month.

Top of this post is the Kuboraum T1 sunglass in question, the brilliantly conceived mask within a mask. They type of design that if someone described it you'd think it could not work, but as is shown here, it does! A great looking, highly original frame.

Below that is A2 and finally A1. Made in Italy, Kuboraum is available at its Berlin showroom at 96 Köpenicker Straße, and at top-end shops and opticians around the world.

Up with the Larke: crystal clear acetates for 2015

As an English glasses blogger, it's always a pleasure to meet a new English glasses designer. There aren't many.

So here's Laura Nicholson in her Larke frame, one of a stunning collection of stylish acetate specs, all available online and all made in England.

Featured here, top to bottom, are Gill in cobalt blue, the exceptional Locke in crystal and Veda in Horn.

Prices are around £275 with delivery available worldwide. A few stockists too in London, Copenhagen and Tokyo,

Bellinger glasses in cotton candy colours

It's a bold eyewear house that breaks the mould by baking its own acetate, but the designers at Bellinger do just that.

Bellinger acetate creates a beautiful play of colors with unique patterns. A dough of cotton, acetone and alcohol is mixed, filtered, kneaded, heated and finally pushed into large blocks. And that's when the creative work begins resulting in some amazing effects. It's a bit like old-fashioned candy say the Danish company as demonstrated by these great images which I picked up at the recent 100% Optical show in London.

Kirk & Kirk launches debut Vivarium collection

Forget glasses with plain pins in the top corners of the frame. Forget the ubiquitous lozenge shape rivet that dominates the mass market. And opt instead for an intricate fly or a horse inspired by Victorian natural history collectors .

Do so and you'll be getting your hands on the hotly anticipated debut collection from eyewear's new luxury eyewear name, Kirk & Kirk.

As a lifelong fan of Kirk Originals, my brow furrowed last summer when I discovered that the brand's founders, Jason and Karen Kirk, had left the company. Kirk Originals continues, and EWG wishes it well, but it was the launch of the Kirks' new brand, Kirk & Kirk, that was always going to excite us, hence the first post in a long while.

As with brilliant Beam collection a couple of years ago, Vivarium is made of acrylic, which makes it lighter than acetate. The frames are handmade in France while the animal jewellery pins have been crafted in England and are made of sterling silver or 9 carat gold.

Frames top to bottom: Carson, Curie and Fleming, featuring gold horse pins.

Fluo glasses for Gen Y from Theo

These are from Theo's wonderful limited edition Mille series for the braver glasses wearer. Mille means 1000 in French but it's also short for millennials, those young types – Generation Y (Z even?) – who know their way around all things digital. Six more shapes and loads more colours here...

Cheap Monday 2014: Hybris opticals

As promised a little more from the Cheap Monday Hybris collection – this time some opticals... liking that little detail at the frame's temple on the left.

Matte and fat at Cheap Monday

Meet the new Hybris collection from Cheap Monday. Glasses have been getting bigger and badder for years now and we're loving these sunnies from the Swedes. Cheap Monday says the collection conveys a "kick-ass" attitude, something we've always approved of at EWG. We'll feature some opticals in a week or two.

Spike Lee stars in Cazal's 2014 lookbook

Cult film director Spike Lee makes a guest appearance in Cazal's 2014 lookbook, shot by photographer Armen Djerrahian in Brooklyn. Here we give you a taster but to see the full lookbook, visit Cazal...

CW Dixey & Son Chartwell 02 spectacles

We've featured CW Dixey & Son glasses here previously – good to see them still going strong. These are the classy Chartwell 02, perfect if you want a pair to peer over with a slightly disapproving look!

And it was just announced that CW Dixey will be featured in the Linley Exhibition in London, celebrating British design, craftmanship, engineering and innovation. CW Dixey will feature alongside Rolls-Royce, McLaren, Lobb and Bremont watches, among many other distinguished names. More here...

Cubitts glasses online: Brunswick, Herbrand and Wicklow

After having taken a bit of breather, EWG returns to find some interesting trends in the world of glasses. There suddenly appear to be quite a few websites, sometimes with a physical shop like Playn Eyewear, offering very good value, quality specs for around the £100 mark.

Cubitts has caught my eye: good Italian acetate, pin drilling, barrel hinges, decent lenses... the list goes on! And as is fairly typical for online sellers now, you get to choose up to four pairs in a home trial, before you choose the frame you really fancy. Above is Brunswick, left is Herbrand and below is Wicklow.

Hoet creates 3D-printed titanium glasses: Made in Belgium

3D printed glasses have hitherto been made from nylon or a similar polymer, but Bruges-based Hoet, after four years' research an development, has now made a rather stunning pair of 3D-printed titanium spectacles: Made in Belgium  - that's the name and the provenance. View more below...

Playn Eyewear at Shoreditch Boxpark

If you've never bought a pair of glasses from a shipping container, now might be your chance. Boxpark in Shoreditch is a collection of pop-up shops assembled like Lego near the Overground station. There, until 24 November, is Playn Eyewear, a lovely collection of good-quality acetate frames. It's not an opticians though, so have your prescription at the ready and get a decent pair of specs, fully glazed, all good quality for £125. Oh and if you can't get along to Shoredicth in the next three weeks, you can do it all online: Playn Eyewear. Playn simple!

Christian Roth 2014 sunglasses captured by Formento & Formento

Here's the latest from Éric Domège and Christian Roth, as captured by photographic duo Richeille and BJ Formento in Miami’s MiMo district for the designers' 2014 campaign.

Top to bottom: Belles of Embellishment, Christian's Own, and Piece and Love. The range of colours is vast. Below is Christian's Own (named after his favourite aviator shape), in the colourway Design 78,  a "Fluo Orange with Fluo Green & Caribic Blue detail". Prices circa $460.