Fashion Spectacles, Spectacular Fashion

An irresistible sourcebook featuring vintage glasses of all shapes, styles, and sizes―the very best of spectacle design

The twentieth century marked a turning point in eyewear design, fueled by a rapidly changing social and cultural landscape, new manufacturing techniques, the development of innovative materials, and the entertainment industry. Spectacles, which had previously been classed as purely functional, were transformed into an ultra-chic fashion accessory. This engaging book is based on Simon Murray’s amazing collection, built up over decades of avid collecting. An introduction explores the history of glasses and reveals how premodern features and materials remain a rich source of inspiration in contemporary design, from Andre Courrèges’s “Lunettes Eskimo,” a twentieth-century take on Inuit goggles, to Gucci’s “Leather Aviators.” Examples of pre-twentieth-century glasses and contextual shots of film and style icons sporting spectacles illustrate not only the finest inventions and innovations of the past but also their evolution into the diverse, eclectic range of styles available today. Illustrated with specially commissioned photographs by Drew Gardner, this indispensable guide to eyewear will appeal to fashion designers, stylists, costume designers, and lovers of vintage. 274 illustrations, 261 in color

Simon Murray has provided glasses for movies from Indiana Jones to Batman.

Nicky Albrechtsen is the proprietor of the Vintage Resource Studio in Brick Lane, London, which provides costumes and props to the theater and media. She is the author of The Printed Square; Scarves, with Fola Solanke; and Fashion Spectacles, Spectacular Fashion, with Simon Murray.