EYES on St Albans is obsessive about bringing you an unrivaled collection of eyewear. It’s not about the high street names – those you’ve heard of – that are mass manufactured, widely distributed (and copied) and available everywhere. It’s about finding unique designers. It’s about finding innovative manufacturing techniques. It’s about bringing vibrant, engineered quality and exceptional eye-care service to St Albans. We are modern optical practitioners for individuals who share our passion for eyewear.
BLAKE KUWAHARA – LA
Recognised as one of the preeminent designers in eyewear today, Blake launched his exclusive eponymous range of sunglasses and optical frames in the Autumn of 2014.
Blake, a Doctor of Optometry from UC Berkeley, is recognised as a one of the leading lights in eyewear design. Blake has also designed eyewear collections for Coach, Converse, Lucky Brand, Rock & Republic and for New York-based fashion designers Carolina Herrera, Isaac Mizrahi, Behnaz Sarafpour, and John Varvatos as well as a collection for the legendary haute couture Japanese fashion designer, Hanae Mori.
Blake’s bold experimentation and innovation in both design and materials colour combinations have gained him a following in the fashion media and has been profiled in Vogue, ELLE, Bazaar, GQ, In Style and Esquire and has been seen on E!, Access Hollywood, MTV, and CNN. Buzz magazine voted Blake as one of the “100 Coolest People in Los Angeles” and Detour magazine called him, “a gifted talent, blessed with savvy and unmistakable sense of style.”
Blake was also recently named by Brilliant Magazine as one of the “100 most important people in the eyewear industry”. A celebrity favourite, Blake’s designs are worn by Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Halle Berry, Robert Downey, Jr., Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Casey Affleck, Slash, and Charlize Theron among many others. To explore more visit m.blakekuwahara.com.
DITA
You can’t literally see the teams of designers, research and development, or the number of months it took to make a pair of DITA frames. But you will always feel its presence when you hold it in your hands. Which is why DITA’s design and manufacturing standards are regarded as the benchmark by which all other luxury eyewear brands are judged.
From innovating ultra-thin acetates in the DITA-FEATHERLIGHT collection, to the stainless-steel metal core lamination technique found in DITA-LAMINATE, or the character frames defined within the DITA-SERIES collection, the list of DITA’s innovations in eyewear is unrivaled, offering a vision for the future as memorable as its past. We are thrilled at EYES on St Albans to be an official retailer.
KIRK & KIRK – UK
The Kirk family have been pioneers in optics since Sidney and Percy Kirk opened their first London workshops in 1919. They were innovators, not only in frame design but also in the way they ran their business – their couriers were the first to deliver by motorbike, roaring through the streets of 1920’s London.
Three generations later, inspired by the heritage and twenty years of passion for eyewear, a husband and wife team of Jason and Karen Kirk created Kirk & Kirk. They cut no corners in creating eyewear that deserves to carry the Kirk name, a family that has been committed to producing the finest eyewear since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Kirk and Kirk is a highly colourful collection uniquely crafted from ‘see-through’ transparent acrylic, exceptionally lightweight and hand finished for extreme comfort. To explore more visit: kirkandkirk.com.
MOSCOT – NYC
MOSCOT is a 103 years old eyewear brand originating from and still based in the Lower East side of New York; a family run, 5th generation independently owned and managed business. There are just 7 MOSCOT stores globally, in addition the collection is only available in a select few optical stores. EYES on St Albans has the complete collection in all sizes and colour options and is the largest on display in the UK (excluding MOSCOT Soho).
MOSCOT frames and sunwear are favoured by stars of film, TV and the rock world including, Tinchy Strider, Harrison Ford, Demi Moore, Leonardo Di Caprio, Tinie Tempah, Jeff Goldblum, 50 Cent and Lady Gaga. Johnny Depp will not be seen without wearing The LEMTOSH by MOSCOT.
The collection is still hand-made to this day, featuring original styles dating back to the 1920’s and continuing through the decades to new styles being introduced by Zac Moscot. If you want to rock the chunky iconic look, MOSCOT is for you! To explore more visit: moscot.com.
ROAV Eyewear – CALIFORNIA
The worlds thinnest foldable eyewear, ROAV is as thin as an iPhone when folded flat ready for its handy faux leather case. Blended with beautiful design and cutting-edge tech, ROAV developed a proprietary system of micro screwless hinges that are durable, responsive and unbelievably small and light. Each frame is painstakingly laser cut from surgical stainless steel, constructed with screwless hinges, all topped off with a scratch proof ion plating – Many years of looking and feeling awesome.
Available in an array of styles and coloured finishes, EYES on St Albans is one of a few UK authorised dealers to carry the full collection. www.roavuk.com
TAVAT – ITALY
Designed in California yet hand crafted in Italy, TAVAT eyewear utilises advanced materials with superior properties to create perfectly functional frames that are light and comfortable. Such materials include surgical stainless steel, acetate and Grilamid TR-90, ensuring durability and a sophisticated aesthetic, while advanced engineering and superb hand-craftsmanship, guarantee lasting comfort and a superior fit. To explore more visit: tavat-eyewear.com.
THE CATHEDRAL COLLECTION – ST ALBANS
EYES on St Albans very own eyewear and sunwear collection designed by us for you. The Cathedral Collection is handcrafted in the only independent artisan workshop in Greece, featuring hand pinned metal on metal joints, ensuring unsurpassed rigidity and comfort having a lustre to the acetate that can only be achieved through final polishing with bamboo chips – simply stunning.
VAVA – DETROIT & BERLIN
Not for the faint hearted, VAVA! Striving for a contemporary pared back look in conjunction with the futurism, conceptualism and purism that is associated with Techno. The spirit of VAVA is based on the same principle: VAVA is conceptual and visionary in its essence.
VAVA associates the highly conceptual language of machinery and the arts. Everybody at VAVA lives by this philosophy, providing great consistency to this vision.
The collection is handmade, with a combination of acetate and aluminium, at a small family-owned Italian factory and priding themselves on avoiding mass manufacturing. This gives VAVA the freedom of creation and ensures outstanding quality, a truly unique eyewear and slightly ‘mad’ collection. Will I Am, is often seen sporting a yellow circular VAVA piece on ‘The Voice’. To explore more visit: vavaeyewear.com.
Other collections include:
Lindberg – lindberg.com
Barton Perreira – bartonperreira.com
Lunor – Welcome to the Luniverse! – lunor.com