Q1. When did you first discover your Passion for Vintage Sunglasses ?
A. I was always very style-conscious from my days back in London. A wardrobe full of Fancy Suits, colorful shirts & killer shoes … so then began a quest for a Stand-Out accessory to add a Signature to my Style . Early 2000s, I stumbled across a small boutique in Notting Hill selling Never-Worn, Mint Condition Vintage Sunglasses .. and from that moment I was hooked.
Q2. What led to the inception of Lunetier Vintage DXB ?
A. This is an interesting question. So the owner of the small boutique in Notting Hill became a great friend, bonding over a love of Style, Fashion, Hip-Hop & obviously Vintage Glasses. He suggested that I represent him in Dubai seeing as how we are a City with almost year round sun, but moreover, a City where there’s a Cosmopolitan, Style-Conscious community always looking for something Unique, Original & Special to make them stand out from the crowd. It struck me as a perfect opportunity.
Q3. How do you acquire your stock from various countries ?
A. We are a Specialised, Collectors Business. So like the world of Watches, Coins or Sneakers it’s all about the Network you are able to build up. From my time as purely a customer/collector, I methodically searched the world for my People & these sources became my Network for the business. We work with about 20 dealers from the UK through to the States, sharing an understanding of what mint-condition means, guaranteeing the provenance of the frames that enter our universe.
Q4. Does vintage has many takers in today’s fast paced world ?
A. It has been an education process in Dubai since 2015, to a degree introducing the idea of Vintage to potential clients. And remember we only deal in Never-Worn, Never-Previously-Owned frames …. That is a more difficult concept for newbies to grasp. Even though some of our collection is from the 1950s, its mint-condition, as if straight out of the box!
And Yes .. because what we offer is so Unique it’s exactly what a discerning customer is looking for. We are in a way the antidote to low-quality, fast fashion.
Q5. Which is your most prized possession at Lunetier Vintage DXB & why ?
A. Now this is a difficult question & the answer changes all the time because we are procuring special pieces all the time. At present, we have a 1950s Tart Optical Arnel Blackwood frame made famous because legendary actor James Dean used to wear this frame. Subsequently every good-looking American Actor who wants to appear Deep & Sensitive follows suit … so you’ve probably seen the same glasses worn by Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jnr & many more. I guess frames with a celebrity connection become the Show Pieces .. we have a pair of 70s Elvis Polaroid Sunglasses coming, customised by the Man who used to make these frames exclusively for The King of Rock’n’Roll himself.
Q6. How has the response been since your pop up at KAVE, Al Serkal ?
A. We have been in business in Dubai since 2015 & in the beginning traded at Pop-Markets & through Private Appointments. We never really found a location where we felt we would encounter the niche clientele who would embrace our Passion for Vintage EyeWear. However Al Serkal & KAVE in particular has been the perfect location for us .. we finally found a place which felt like Home.
Q7. What’s next for the brand ?
We are already extending the product line into accessories & have developed our own Custom Design, Custom Made EyeWear chains & are just finalising a deal for 100% Silk Scarves, again Custom Designed to perfectly compliment our Unique Eyewear. In addition, we offer a Bespoke Lens Service, pimping lens into exotic colours so they can be worn Day & Night. Our frames are literally eye jewellery, our “NightShades” concept is truly something special.
Q8. According to you how important is eye wear in the over all personality of a person ?
We don’t consider ourselves as being in the Fashion Business .. We are in the Style Business. Vintage Eyewear is all about Uniqueness at a Time where the modern trend is more about blanding than branding. I have never wanted to “fit-in” & be like everyone else & it seems I’m not alone as we meet more & more people that think just like Us. We prepare our clients for a minimum 30-minute journey through our collection to find exactly the right piece that really talks to them … & says what they want to say about themselves! Our motto is very much to Find that Special Frame that Fits the Personality as much as the Face.
