Moscot Eyewear has been around for generations in the Lower East Side of New York, but in recent years they’ve been getting a lot more attention in the fashion scene. The store sits on Orchard Street near East Asian kiosks and minutes away from exceptional retailers including ALIFE and In God We Trust.
The ground floor of the store is a clean showroom with white walls, glass cases and one scenester employee on staff doing nothing apparently productive. One floor up is where you want to be. The scene is in stark contrast to the first floor; cluttered display cases, old Italian opticians, and framed pictures of numerous celebrities in their Moscot moments fill the space.
Above are a few of the standout pieces from Moscot, the top one being our favourite: The heritage brand has taken their oldest Miltzen shape from the 1930s and revamped them in titanium. They’re a great piece if you want a bigger shape, but something distinctly different from the plastic standard.
Here’s a great video from Oliver Peoples for their 2010 Campaign featuring their coming eyewear collection. The eccentric video stars Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson are featured as an odd couple sporting exceptional eyewear at their estate.
“Les enfants sennuienet le dimance” (The children are bored on Sundays) has great shots from Autumn de Wilde reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. Simply an exceptional video full of exceptional eye-wear.
Tom Ford’s Spring 2010 eyewear campaign previews some exceptional pieces and some exceptional shots. Featured in the campaign are Nicholas Hoult and Carolyn Murphy. When Tom Ford isn’t being featured as the face of his creations, he’s close by. For the Spring Eyewear 2010 shoot, Tom Ford shot all the pictures himself. Proven as an excellent photographer, director, designer we’re looking forward to Tom Ford’s next venture.
These frames were awesome simply because of their aesthetic, but then with a little digging, it turns out they’re also a pretty interesting company. Here’s the education.
The company was founded in 1972 by two engineers with the mission “to focus on advanced engineering principles in the manufacturing of premium performance eye-wear.” In 1982 they became the supplier of eyewear and specialist vision products to the US Military.
Prior to a recent hiatus, they’ve been known for their performance, style and a few Hollywood appearances – I think a revival is in store.
SUPER – our favourite, Italian, handmade, Zeiss Lens optics company – has come out with the new “People” model. The silhouette is a short departure from SUPER’s existing models, but it’s great to see the brand consistently doing their thing so well. Here’s a couple of our favourite colourways:
Update: SUPER announced that it’s going to make a limited run of their classic flattop model in a leather wrapped finish. The Italian leather versions will be available through the SUPER Online Store from December 3rd – 10th.
One of the coolest eyewear makers in the last year (besides Super) has been Moscot. They make classic shapes that have become one of the most sought after lineup of frames. They’re limited edition collaboration with Common Projects have been the most difficult $285 frames to come by.
Complex Magazine’s latest Cut & Show features Moscot Eyewear and Eyecare. It goes into the New York store and gains some insight into the family business and history behind the brand. It’s all in the details.
