For someone who doesn’t even wear glasses, I was unusually excited walking into the OPSM Eye Hub. Unlike any other opticians I’ve ever seen before, the place is light, spacious – and most strikingly of all – stylish. Walking through the large glass doors, your eyes are immediately drawn to the endless rows of gorgeous designer glasses that fill the space, but don’t crowd it.
The excitement continues with the extensive styles on offer in OPSM’s upcoming Spring/Summer collection. With designer brands including Burberry, Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci and the recent (exclusive!) addition of Giorgio Armani, the Eye Hub offers an unbeatable range of frames and sunglasses to choose from. No longer just the designers’ afterthought, the frames are well thought out pieces of fashionable, wearable art that pay homage to the larger themes and inspirations of the main catwalk collections.
While classic styles and colours are plentiful, this season’s glasses also reflect the playfulness of spring we’ve witnessed on the catwalk. New shapes, materials, colours and innovative design show that glasses no longer need to be just utilitarian – they can be part of your larger fashion statement too. Michael, who is showing me round the store, sums it up perfectly when he comments, “You have more than one pair of shoes, because they obviously won’t go with every outfit or style you want to wear. Why can’t glasses be the same?”
The Trends
One look at the Prada and Miu Miu collections and I’m in love. Tortoiseshell and oversized cat eye – I’ve found my dream pair. Sixties Mad Men fever is going nowhere.
Monochrome may be an enduring classic (it’s not going anywhere yet!) but Miu Miu modernise the trend with razor sharp lines. The thick, heavy black lines of the top half are offset by the straight-edged lenses, giving the look that the bottom half of the frame has been sliced straight off. Continuing the statement shades, look out for the pentagon-shaped glasses in tortoiseshell, black, teal or beige.
Both Prada and Coach showcase thoughtful detail with stylish patterns and contrasting colours on the inside of the frames. My eyes linger on a pair where bold brights are paired with tortoiseshell fronts, a delightful twist on a classic.
Persol offer a more literal twist. The collection features more classic and clean shapes, but with fantastic innovate design – the glasses fold in half – TWICE!
The Versace glasses are as you’d expect – loud, fabulously over the top and covered in Swarovski crystals, while the glitter and lace that is so intrinsic in the D&G design ethos make several appearances in their glasses. Speckles of ‘glitter’ are encased in one pair and I can’t talk my eyes off the delicate pastel blue lace frames.
The Burberry frames make direct reference to the label’s iconic piece of clothing – the trench coat – with metallic coloured frames to match the metallic trench coats of this season. Bright colour also reigns supreme at Vogue Eyewear, with art deco designs in orange/blue, yellow/white or blue/red
Finally, iconic glasses brand Raybans have updated their classic ‘Aviator’ style frames with coloured polarized lenses which have already been spotted on several celebrities including Georgia May Jagger.
The Surroundings
The Eye Hub is certainly one of a kind. As the largest optical store in the Southern Hemisphere, the place definitely sets itself out as a place to visit, even the destination to go for glasses. The building itself is shaped as an eye, with a ‘pupil’ in the centre, housing some of the stand out frames in the collection in gorgeous pull-out glass drawers.
Don’t let the chic interior fool you though – it’s a destination for kids, too. Head down the shiny corridor and you won’t be able to miss the brightly coloured kids room, complete with projected television shows, swinging chairs, toys and plenty of space to run around. The idea of this, of course, is to try and prevent a visit to the optician from being as stressful experience as a visit to the hairdresser or the dentist with young kids. Instead, they’re in a fun environment WITH FREE TV! It also serves as a great way to distract them, allowing you the time to have a perusal around the designer glasses.
Upon leaving the store, I lament to Michael that I almost wish I needed glasses so I could wear some of the collection’s gorgeous designs. He reassured me that there’s a growing trend of people ordering the frames with plain lenses just to make them part of their look! With that in mind, which do I choose!?
Onya Trend Summary
Shape – Above all go with what suits your face shape. With so many different shapes including circular, square, pentagon, cat eye and triangular this season, finding your style should be easy.
Design – Stay safe with classic black, clear and tortoiseshell or experiment with pastel colours, jewels, monochrome, art deco-inspired designs, glitter or metallic. Phew!
OPSM Eye Hub – 174/176 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, VIC
