James Bond's sunglasses in Spectre: Vuarnet Glacier in black

Mr Bond, we've been expecting you...

In the latest James Bond movie, Spectre, Daniel Craig sports the rather wonderfully black and leather Glacier sunglasses by French luxury ski eyewear maker Vuarnet.

First made in the 1980s, the aviator frame combines an ultra-light metal that subtly surrounds a Mazzucchelli acetate front. Magnetic, removable side shades made from micro-perforated leather protect the eyes and improve vision.

Vuarnet Glacier are available in black matte, with flash gold glass lenses; black matte with silver flash lenses (above), and Savannah with brown flash lenses.

Lunettes London featuring 1980s Anglo American big yellow frames

Lunettes London offers probably one of the best value destinations on the web to purchase exciting genuine eyewear.

Here we feature some pictures from its latest shoot, but the final picture comes from the Lunettes London ASOS Marketplace: a pair of Anglo American vintage yellow oversized frames.

While big frames are without doubt on the up, this pic shows we have some way to go before we match the 1980s - only £48!!

More Cazals make a comeback: 616, 905 and 906

I like Cazal. It's such a cool brand that the German eyewear giant doesn't need to crow about who's wearing its products. So when it relaunches more original models from the 1980s, as it has this month, it doesn't mention that these are the sunglasses worn by everyone from Spike Lee to Jay-Z.

Above is: at the top, Cazal 616; in the middle Cazal 905; and below that, Cazal 906. These frames are part of the Cazal Legends range, remakes of highly sought after originals from the 1980s.

Res/Rei Eyewear launches limited edition frames using 1980s acetates

Had a wander along Floral Street in London on Saturday and so took a peep into the recently refurbished McClintock Opticians (eye tests now available!). I knew I'd probably find something interesting and I did, Res/Rei Eyewear, a stunning collection of handmade Italian acetates.

The top picture shows Res/Rei's distinctive bridge in the Tiberio, while the acetate stunner above is from limited edition set 4, featuring Tito in an amazing 1980s original acetate material. Yum!

 

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.

Vintage Oakley Frogskins from Lunettes London

Lunettes London specialises in genuine, vintage frames from yesteryear and we were particularly taken by these Frogskins by Oakley. Great lenses too! 8)

Eyewear: A Visual History - another optical opus reviewed

You wait all year for an eyewear book and then two come along at once. New York eyewear designer Moss Lipow's Eyewear: A Visual History, at 360 pages, is a bigger book than Cult Eyewear, reviewed here last month. It's a very different hardback, but equally compelling.

Eyewear is for flicking through. Each page is marvellously illustrated with carefully photographed life-size frames, most of which come from Lipow's own collection. As well as this array of stills, he has sourced amazing pictures such as this one above (1956) from old magazines, catalogues, advertising and films.

Lipow begins in the first chapter - pre-1900 - at the very beginnings of glasses, charting the history of the early optical devices. There are lorgnettes, optical fans, scissor spectacles, pince-nez and monocles, but it's the second chapter on 1900-1945 in which you really begin to appreciate the extent of his glasses collection.

I was intrigued by the story linking sunglasses and billiard balls, and the detail provided around some early cat's eye designs and driving glasses is enlightening. Eyewear is providing Eye Wear Glasses with some much need early eyewear education! Brands to be found in this chapter include Shuron, American Optical, Bachman Bros and Montgomery Ward and some Bausch & Lomb aviators from the 1940s. There's even a pair of 1920s protective glasses from the Soviet Union.

The middle section covers the post-war sunglass boom, between 1945 and 1960. Find out here how the demise of ornamental hair combs is linked to eyewear manufacture. And it's from here on in that the book becomes an absolute joy with page after glorious page of amazing eyewear designs. The chapter on the 1960s is superb, with a focus on op-art, featuring contributions from Silhouette, Pierre Cardin, Spec-Trim, Renauld, Ray-Ban, Paulette Guinet, Oliver Goldsmith, Pierre Marly, Oleg Cassini (below) and American Optical (next down).

Continues below...

Above: Shutter sunglasses by Alain Mikli. Above those: are Italian metal sunglasses from Maga Design. And the big blue ones above those are Futura sunglasses from Silhouette. These final three feature in the final chapter, The Age of the Licensed Brand which features yet more amazing styles from Christian Dior, Bollé, Cazal, Moschino by Persol, and some astonishing Jean-Paul Gualtier sunglasses by Murai of Japan.

I particularly like the inclusion of Taiwan or Korea-made sunglasses alongside the Western brands, and Lipow describes the ramifications of Asian-made eyewear on the West's eyewear industries; he even features a Taiwanese "knockoff" of Alain Mikli's famous 'Picasso' 030 frame, directly opposite the genuine spectacle.

Moss Lipow's book is a eyewear design treasure trove, providing exactly the visual history its title promises. It's eyewear eye-candy, at times you don't know where to look! His writing is entertaining and informative and includes numerous little-known gems. But this book is first and foremost about the images, approximately 1,200 of them and every one is presented at a scale such that you can spot wonderful detail. Well worth investing in!

Hover over images for photo credits.

Eyewear: A Visual History by Moss Lipow.
Published by Taschen. UK £34.99, US $59.99, €39.99. 360pp. English/German/French.
ISBN 978-3-8365-2565-7

Also available in Italian/Portuguese/Spanish.
€39.99. ISBN 978-3-8365-2780-4

Buy your copy here:
UK | USA | Deutschland 
España | France | Italia

Sunglasses or glasses on La Brae Street - you decide

HiStyley has long provided EWG with some of our most exciting shots. I love these 1970s/80s lightly tinted shades - the size, shape, the black at the top the contrasts at the sides but fades in the moddle to the light / crystal below... don't know who the glasses are by...

Legend has it: Cazal 623, 856, 901 and 904

Cazal is one of the most sought after brands in eyewear. Overwhelmingly original it became a favoured hip hop brand in the 1980s and its German designer Cari Zalloni and his team continue to create "maximalist" designs, which pay little attention, if any, to dominant trends.

Here are four styles reissued from the 1980s and available now in limited editions. Top is Cazal 623, next Cazal 856, then Cazal 901, and finally Cazal 904.

Morgenthal Frederics turns 25 with limited edition buffalo horn classics

More limited runs, this time from the brilliant Morgenthal Frederics. Celebrating 25 years, MF has created buffalo horn versions of four of its very best. Top to bottom: Mimi (originally released in 1991), Rhapsody (1986), Chet (1996) and Flange (1990).

Each piece is limited edition, numbered 1-25, and only come in one colour. Handmade in Germany, they are available now at select Morgenthal Frederics boutiques.

Original Alain Mikli 030 sunglasses in Hawaii, 1986

One day EWG will do a list of the most iconic eyewear styles ever. Until then I give you a snippet of what may appear in that list: Alain Mikli 030, aka 'Picasso'.

Above pictured by Alan Light, left an example from Zone7Style.

Robert La Roche's tribute to the 1980s: the RLR812 special edition

Robert La Roche is an exceptional Austrian eyewear brand with a rich heritage stretching back to the 1970s.

Even those with little eye for fashion will have noticed the 1980s revival. And as we saw in my post on Thierry Lasry yesterday, the designers are not only using styles from the 1980s as inspiration, they're sourcing acetate from that period to make their glasses look and feel even more retro.

Robert La Roche, with designs now headed by Klaus Huber and Alexandra Giselbrecht, actually found these 1980s acetates "in the basement". 

Twenty or 30 years later, the acetate has become harder, but the colour radiates a new glow.

The RLR812 is available in limited quantities - aptly 80 pairs for each colour.

Vintage 1980s aviator specs by Frederic Beausoleil

I'm loving this relatively complex design where the browline metal is holding the thread that secures the lenses to the frame; a simple shape with a detailed execution. Great square-sectioned temples too. They're by French designer Frederic Beausoleil.

Christina Aguilera wears Carrera sunglasses in her Not Myself Tonight video

Carrera Endurance sunglasses as seen on Christina Aguilera's video Not Myself Tonight, another one of 'those' videos which is getting the right wing press all hot under the collar. I think last time it was Rihanna wearing these retro 1980s shades... I like the shades. And the highly practical raincoat.

Carrera 5251 vintage sunglasses - do sunnies get better than this?

Sunjet by Carrera 5251 vintage sunglasses from the late 1980s: a transparent frame with green coloured lenses. These are a bit brilliant and very 2010. Thanks to Solaris Vintage.

Vintage Paloma Picasso - do sunglasses get more 1980s than these?

Vintage 1980s Paloma Picasso sunglasses from Japanese vintage eyewear site Solakzade.

Whose sunglasses is Rihanna wearing in her Rude Boy video?

...well, they would be Carrera's Endurance - specifically the Endurance SML JO7 LF C.

Very unusual Porsche Design 5660 vintage sunglasses

These Porsche Design vintage shades are great/strange! With thanks to M sunglasses collection

30 years of iconic Hollywood movies' eyewear

With thanks, SF Optics...

Claire Goldsmith Legacy glasses collection

It brings me great pleasure when I can rave about some British designers and they don't come much greater than Oliver Goldsmith.

Claire Goldsmith relaunched Oliver Goldsmith sunglasses four years ago, recreating many of the vintage designs of the past 70

years.

Claire Goldsmith says, “The collection has been designed by the team I have put together since re-launching the Oliver Goldsmith brand.

"The OG re-launch has been incredibly well received and the classic designs taken from the archive once again can be seen to be worn on some of the coolest faces out there.

"But vintage is just one trick and we can do so much more. Legacy represents the future.”

I agree. Great shapes and I love the mixture of

1950s vintage details with more 1970s and 1980s finishes.

Hold on to that design

team Claire!

Stockists include Artsee in NY and Gogosha Optique in LA. Available February.