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)... 

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.

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.

Oliver Goldsmith for President

Thanks for all the positive comments following our sudden return on Friday. We won't go away; just rest our eyes occasionally. We blog for the joy of specs and here is one of the brands where it all began, Oliver Goldsmith. These are President, reissued from 1964.

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.

 

Blake Kuwahara's frame within a frame

Blake Kuwahara has been designing top-notch specs for the likes of Kata, Carolina Herrera and Coach but last year he launched a glasses collection under his own name, and EWG likes what it sees.

I've previously talked about the contrast between the shape of the outer frame and and the inner frame and it can create dramatic effects on the look of a pair of glasses. What Blake has done is added another dimension by producing frames which appear to have another frame inside, what he calls frame within a frame.

Great results as you can see here with Eames (top) and Corbu (above).

Handmade in Japan and oozing quality, Blake Kuwahara glasses will cost you around the $600 mark.

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.

Behind the scenes of pq Eyewear 2015 shoot

Getting up to date with Ron Arad's pq... courtesy of a feature on HungerTV. Including a great view of the hingeless design....

How much should you spend on a decent pair of glasses?

When people ask me how much you should spend on glasses I usually say that if it seems like a really good price – for example "buy-one-get-one-free", "free lenses", "frames just $29.99" – then in all likelihood, it probably isn't. You get what you pay for

Just like with a decent watch, dishwasher or car, a more expensive pair of specs will most likely last longer and fit better.

So when my Dad told me about his pal Ash's new Andy Wolf Havana Gold frames, I gave a big thumbs up. They look great and I'm certain they'll last.

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.