Spectacular Specs

Coterie

Though it’s never really out, this season it’s most definitely IN - one glance at the fashion week catwalks will confirm it; statement eyewear, particularly for men, is unquestionably trending.
Whether for prescription, sun protection or purely vanity purposes, face furniture is seeing a big ramp in hip value and accordingly a number of independent retailers are setting up shop capitalising on sexy specs. Nowhere is this more so than Shanghai, where first into the fray is concept eyewear brand Coterie, with its blindingly white-washed, brick-lined space packed with an exceptional roster of top line and under the radar frames.

While entry level shopportunists may recognise the big ticket names like Dita, Persol, Oliver Peoples and the Olsen twin’s line Elizabeth & James, the stylists, fashionistas and celebrities that are Coterie’s core market are snapping up exclusive Berlin-based Lunettes Kollektion, Kanye West and Sienna Miller-favoured brand Super with their signature Zeiss lenses, Thom Browne, limited edition Prism frames (carved from single blocks of acetate and hand-finished in Italy), and the classic 1947 ‘Mad Men’ browline Ronsir frames from iconic US manufacturer Shuron, who have been at it since 1865. That’s a lot of spectacles! Now, whoever was it that said girls don’t makes passes at guys who wear glasses?