Thierry Lasry is a true child of the '80s. "I’m totally obsessed," the retro eyewear king told us on a visit to his studio in Soho this week. "Everything, in terms of creation, happened from the '80s. And everything is indirectly inspired by that."
When you walk into his sun-filled office, you see what he means. One wall is lined with his avant-garde, handmade in France sunglasses, perched on shelves like rare books in a library. The adjacent wall is filled with retro toys. Thierry Lasry––whose sunglasses frame the well-known faces of A-listers like Rihanna to Eva Mendes––approaches eyewear with the excitement of a kid and the precision of an artisan. “My father was an optician. He still is. My mother was formerly a designer, so I was kind of raised in this culture of design and eyewear all the time.”
The two walls of his studio are like the two sides of the designer––fun, innovative design coupled with time-honored craftsmanship. Some designs actually use recycled acetate from '80s dead stock. "Designers were doing more creative things in the '80s. They had less pressure about selling. Now they've stopped investing and designing in crazy-beautiful patterns," he said. "So it's up to you—you want something special, you have to design it.”
Another quirky signature of Thierry Lasry sunglasses is the naming. “My first name ends in 'y' and my last name ends in 'y'. And since they are like my babies, all the names end the same,” he said. Sexxxy, Sobriety, Orgasmy, Anorexxxy, Diamondy––the words complete the look.
AUSTEN ROSENFELD: How do you get started in the design process? How do you decide where the colors and shapes come from?
THIERRY LASRY: There’s no real starting point. Yes, every season we launch new styles, but alongside the permanent collection. You can't, after one season, say "I’m influenced by Egypt" and next season say "I’m going to do something Scandinavian." I always have my eyes very wide open. Inspiration can come from the street, and it can come from movies, magazines, and music.
Is there a historical example of perfect sunglasses that you look to as a reference?
No, because I think that everything eventually can serve as a source of inspiration, but I believe no one in the past has really tried to combine creativity with a really high level of quality. Most of the time its creative or quality.
Did your parents wear some stylish glasses when you were growing up?
Totally. And in general, my mother always looked for the special accessory, the one nobody would have. They told me how to be different and look at things different. Most of the time, people in this industry, when they do it properly and not for opportunistic reasons—it comes from family.
What's the secret to a beautiful pair of sunglasses?
There’s this strand, especially now, where ugly is cool. I do exactly the opposite; my whole point is making people beautiful, even more beautiful, as far as possible with sunglasses than without sunglasses.
How do you make them flattering?
It has to do with the specificities of the face—the width of your bridge, the height of the cheeks, the shape of the face—all those things enter into consideration because it's going on your fac
When you walk into his sun-filled office, you see what he means. One wall is lined with his avant-garde, handmade in France sunglasses, perched on shelves like rare books in a library. The adjacent wall is filled with retro toys. Thierry Lasry––whose sunglasses frame the well-known faces of A-listers like Rihanna to Eva Mendes––approaches eyewear with the excitement of a kid and the precision of an artisan. “My father was an optician. He still is. My mother was formerly a designer, so I was kind of raised in this culture of design and eyewear all the time.”
The two walls of his studio are like the two sides of the designer––fun, innovative design coupled with time-honored craftsmanship. Some designs actually use recycled acetate from '80s dead stock. "Designers were doing more creative things in the '80s. They had less pressure about selling. Now they've stopped investing and designing in crazy-beautiful patterns," he said. "So it's up to you—you want something special, you have to design it.”
Another quirky signature of Thierry Lasry sunglasses is the naming. “My first name ends in 'y' and my last name ends in 'y'. And since they are like my babies, all the names end the same,” he said. Sexxxy, Sobriety, Orgasmy, Anorexxxy, Diamondy––the words complete the look.
Thierry continued, "This is an accessory that people are not able to chose for themselves. They don’t know what looks good on them.” Buying sunglasses involves trust, and we trust Thierry Lasry to make us look good.
AUSTEN ROSENFELD: How do you get started in the design process? How do you decide where the colors and shapes come from?
THIERRY LASRY: There’s no real starting point. Yes, every season we launch new styles, but alongside the permanent collection. You can't, after one season, say "I’m influenced by Egypt" and next season say "I’m going to do something Scandinavian." I always have my eyes very wide open. Inspiration can come from the street, and it can come from movies, magazines, and music.
Is there a historical example of perfect sunglasses that you look to as a reference?
No, because I think that everything eventually can serve as a source of inspiration, but I believe no one in the past has really tried to combine creativity with a really high level of quality. Most of the time its creative or quality.
Did your parents wear some stylish glasses when you were growing up?
Totally. And in general, my mother always looked for the special accessory, the one nobody would have. They told me how to be different and look at things different. Most of the time, people in this industry, when they do it properly and not for opportunistic reasons—it comes from family.
What's the secret to a beautiful pair of sunglasses?
There’s this strand, especially now, where ugly is cool. I do exactly the opposite; my whole point is making people beautiful, even more beautiful, as far as possible with sunglasses than without sunglasses.
How do you make them flattering?
It has to do with the specificities of the face—the width of your bridge, the height of the cheeks, the shape of the face—all those things enter into consideration because it's going on your fac