Flagship store celebrates London opening
Kirk Orginals have long had their headquarters in Covent Garden…but all has changed..a newly designed one has opened in Conduit Street, just near Regent’s Street, in the centre of London…and what a joy to see such a thing. There are so many eyewear brands opening their stores around the world, London was just waiting for this…
I visited a few days ago for the launch party. This is a very contemporary looking optician’s store showing the full Kirk Originals’ repertoire of frames, which are exhibited in a fun, accessible way: each frame is like a work of art, displayed on white faces with expressive “lenticular” eyes that change as the customer moves around. The interior and window displays are inspired by the Kirk Originals’ Kinetic Collection, a line which uses lenticular printing (the technical term for this type of “moving” almost 3 dimensional, colour-changing imagery) to decorate the temples of the glasses.
In addition, director of the brand, Jason Kirk has hand-picked two international eyewear brands that are available here exclusively: the very dashing Leisure Society collection, which is a luxurious treat with high prices but incredible design, clever detailing and lots of West Coast pizzazz: I have seen this line in its entirety recently, and it certainly stands out. And there is also Undostrial, an industrial, street brand from France that offers a slightly more conservative but nicely created range of colourful specs, primarily in metal. Indications are that there are more exciting brands coming soon. CN
Kirk Originals, 6 Conduit Street, W1S 1XE www.kirkoriginals.com