Writing about Vintage Eyewear in the 1990’s makes me feel old, as I was there.. and I remember all of the below pictures and styles. How awful is that? When as an eyewear rep, this is what I remember: Eye doctors started advertising and those that did were looked down upon. The 1990’s brought out the first buying groups, Avante Garde made a splash with the Deeda, Tura and Neostyle were going neck to neck with Faceted frames. The first Eyewear in Vogue and other fashion magazines.. Brand names started making a big splash..
Christian Dior in 1990 was distributed by a company called Optyl, which has since been bought by Safilo, who still distributes Christian Dior Eyewear. Safilo purchase the Carrera Optyl from Austria in March 1996.
In the United States, Carl Zeiss does not distribute any eyewear. In the 1990s you are seeing Zeiss with an old German line called Metzler.
I don’t remember who was distributing Versace back in the 1990’s. It has been distributed by several companies since that time and was picked up by Luxottica in 2003.
Ellen Tracy Eyewear is currently distributed by ClearVision Optical.
Cartier is distributed by Cartier
Yes that is Sugar Ray Leonard pitching sunwear from Visual Scene Sun.
Gucci Eyewear is distributed by Safilo
Oliver Peoples is an eyewear manufacturer of glasses and sunglasses, established in 1986 by Ken Schwartz and Larry Leight.[1] The company was founded in West Hollywood, CA and first appeared on the cover of German Vogue in 1987. It began selling vintage frames from a boutique and now includes a number of brands, including Oliver Peoples Vision, Mosley Tribes and Paul Smith Spectacles. In 2006, Oakley, a subsidiary of Luxottica, acquired Oliver Peoples for $55.7 million (Wikipedia)
Joan Collins Eyewear is still distributed today by New York Eye.
Tura is celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. They were merged with Eschenbach last year.
Guess Eyewear has always been distributed by Viva, which was bought this year by Marcolin Eyewear
St. Moritz Eyewear is still distributed today by LBI Eyewear.
After a hiatus, Matsuda is back and distributed by Matsuda
Chery Tiegs Eyewear was a distributed by Welling
Cazal Eyewear is distributed by Eastern States and UltraOptical
Persol’s name is derived from “per il sole,” which, in Italian, means “for the sun.” Formed in 1917 by Giuseppe Ratti, Persol originally catered to pilots and sports drivers. Presently, the company is famous for its durable sports sunglasses. Its trademark is the silver arrow (often referred to as the “Supreme Arrow”), and several of the company’s glasses feature this symbol. Persol was a heavy influence in the production of sunglasses. The company developed the first flexible stem. This flexible stem system is known as the patented Meflecto system and was one of the first spring hinges ever developed for eyewear. Persol was introduced to the United States in 1962. Its first boutique opened on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles in 1991. It is currently owned by the Luxottica group and has been since 1995
Neostyle Eyewear was established in the United States in the late 1950’s early 1960’s. They were known for having the most unique, best quality eyewear in the market. Celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor and Stevie Wonder all wore Neostyle’s Nautic. Queen Elizabeth was known to wear a solid gold Neostyle Frame. Unfortunately, Neostyle left the United States and is available in Europe.
Foster Grant Eyewear was distributed by FGX which in turn was bought by Essilor several years ago.
