The Eyes Have It

When I was 10 years old, there was nothing I wanted more than a pair of glasses. I wanted them so badly that I tried to fail my eye exam on purpose.

Turns out, the joke was on me: I was long overdue for a pair. There’s a feeling you get when you realize for the first time in your life that trees have leaves; it’s the same euphoria that erupts when you lay eyes on a pair of L.A. Eyeworks frames. Combing through the local brand’s spring 2010 offerings on a recent afternoon brought me immediately back to my preteen days of longing – not just for glasses, but for the possibilities they presented. “We don’t think of them as a commercial product,” explains Brent Zerger, communications director for L.A. Eyeworks. “We think of them as artworks.” A lofty assertion, but Zerger doesn’t quite exaggerate. These aren’t just glasses: They’re statements. Big, bold statements, in mustard yellow, cobalt blue, translucent teal and an extensive palette of textures and finishes.

For 30 years now, co-founders and designers Gai Gherardi and Barbara McReynolds have delivered collection after collection of eye-popping frames to a legion of followers. But spring 2010 seems to be their season. Chunky acetate styles with riveted endpieces provide a counterpoint to a new round of specs that owe their wood grain texture to a lacquered finish. Wherever and whenever Gherardi and McReynolds have the opportunity to innovate, they seize it. Description often defies the specs.

On the very day that another Calif.-based innovator, Apple, unveiled its much-anticipated iPad, Gherardi presented me with the “Peace Monocle,” a palm-sized reading lens in the shape of a peace sign. “When you think about glasses and their possibilities, they hold so much information,” Gherardi says. “They can be the screen of your tablet.”

When the iPad hits shelves in March, Apple’s ever-devoted design aficionados can snap up L.A. Eyeworks’ ‘Bing’ and ‘Alto’ frames: late-spring debuts that play out the season’s obsession with color in punchy reds, oranges, yellow and blues that shift in texture from matte to shiny. Lo-tech, hi-impact.

But L.A. Eyeworks’ influence extends beyond their ever-evolving collection. Quite unintentionally, it seems, they have emerged as the originators of a cult of forward-thinking Los Angeles eyewear specialists, their most prominent disciples having once been employees. Sung Kim, who honed his skill as a lens craftsman and assistant manager at L.A. Eyeworks, is now the owner of Eyetailor, his own shop on Melrose Avenue.

IN FOCUS: Frames by Andy Wolf at Eyetailor

Not so surprisingly, he delights in diversity in the same way as his former employers. “I want to be a little bit different and unique,” he says. “It’s the feeling of creativity that inspires me most.” Kim’s standouts for spring represent a truly international cross-section of like-minded brands. From Austrian designer Andy Wolf, there’s a circular, see-through style in baby blue and electric orange trim; from JF Rey, a French brand, you'll see intricate cut-outs and a shot of lime. Alain Mikli, another French designer, gives us a checkerboard print. And, of course, there’s L.A. Eyeworks’ can’t-miss-em silhouettes.