Man of the Peoples: Larry Leight on a lifetime in celebrity eyeglasses

Given its proximity to the centre of the Los Angeles studio universe, stylish old movies are an influence on Oliver Peoples creative director Larry Leight, but "we go further afield," he says. Breakfast At Tiffany's? Please. That's almost too obvious. Instead, try the Mande — an oversized pair of sunglasses inspired by ones worn by Catherine Deneuve in the 1968 film Manon 70, a movie also memorable for her chic Emanuel Ungaro wardrobe.I quiz Leight about famous frames both on and off screen – like Pierce Brosnan as Bond (he wore his own Oliver Peoples in the last one), Aristotle Onassis ("the original Onassis was a Persol frame and the oft-claimed Jackie O, for whose Capri-era goggles I've heard at least five different heritage brands claim ownership ("hers are a bit more difficult but one was a Nina Ricci, for sure").
Leight answers easily because he's the L.A. optician who co-founded Oliver Peoples with his brother Dennis in 1986 with a single store on West Sunset and on this particular day, for an afternoon at Holt Renfrew to meet customers and help them pick frames, Leight is wearing TheSoloist, from the brand's collaboration with cult underground Japanese designer Takahiro Miyashita.At first glance the stele is a typical aviator, but there are modifications to give it a twist: vintage parts are incorporated, like a brow bar. Iconic eyewear shapes – horn rims, cat's eyes and aviators – have been the core of the brand throughout its 25 years and have surged in recent years. "The recession has been about basics," Leight explains, "more classics.How to Spot Fake Ray Ban Sunglasses Online?People aren't going to splurge on tons of frames," which is why he thinks that even through the recession, business kept going "pretty good."
"People know they're getting something that will last. Not just the [acetate] quality but our styles, too, are more timeless-type styles than typical licensed brands that do season by season by season and big-time reinvent the wheel every time. With us, we tend to want to like things longer and a lot of our designs are timeless.""We also seem to design a lot of frames that people like to use for films because they are timeless and don't have a period around it. Take Johnny Depp, who wears our Sheldrake," he says. "And you can't date the film or the glasses – whether it's his new one or not. That's part of our culture – that's how we design frames. We don't do logos, which can date, either. We don't do super-recognizable things that put a period on it. People aspire to things like that now – the anonymity of a brand."