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...

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

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.

Available at selected stores priced £270 or €299 and online from Lunettes Kollektion.


Photos: Emma Tempest.

Erna glasses in Havana brown and gold dust by Fleye

'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

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

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 by Japanese brand Miraco.They're available from Zozo and are lenses-free.

Happy Ewe Year! "Pure new wool and perfect stitches," comes from this little ditty by the Sultans of Ping FC...

Mykita & Moncler: the best winter sunglasses for 2012?

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!

Massada 2012 optical collection: Metropolis and Belle de Jour

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 of Metropolis, Belle de Jour and The Cube.

Prices start at €205 or $264.

Oliver Goldsmith launches OG kids' sunglass range: Mini Icons

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),  but made smaller for the style-savvy adolescents, 4-14 year olds. Hover over images for frame names and the year the grown-up versions were originally made.

Priced at a very reasonable £95, OG Mini Icons are available in February 2012.

Theo x Tim Van Steenbergen: the Hierro sunglass collection

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 Van Steenbergen emblem.

Each frame is named after a Spanish patron saint: above is Isidro, and below, Jaime and Mercè. Neither leather nor embroidery is actually used but it looks extremely convincing.

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

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 across. Below, also new for 2012, are Niger and La Polverosa...