Bill Murray in Moonrise Kingdom has them. Bradley Cooper, Amanda Seyfried and Kristen Stewart have them. All the hip people you follow on instagram have them. So what’s the thing with those GLCO frames?
WHO:
We believe in California. The most striking thing about the GLCO brand is their constant
mentioning of California.
Obvious values aside (quality, details, handmade, custom), the people at GLCO put a great deal of emphasis on the place where it all started. Yeah well, it’s always sunny there, it figures… If you check out their site you’ll find it there, written as a sort of a statement “We believe in California.” Now can you guess what does the C in the GLCO stands for? Of course… fans of Garrett Leight California Optical. Not a fan yet? You’re going to be…
Garrett, Creative Director at GLCO, is the cool, laid back, artistic son of Larry. Larry Leight? The founder of Oliver Peoples, very fashionable eyewear brand. Born and raised in the west side of LA, Garrett Leight has got both eyewear design and California in his DNA. 
“Venice it’s an inspiring community for me. I really like how the creative people of Venice fly under the radar, they are humble people, they allow their creativity, they allow their art to shine through.” 
The lookbook for the first GLCO eyewear collection, back in the summer of 2011, was shot at a local restaurant next door, featuring the waitress, a hostess and friends. Garrett speaks a lot about Venice in his interviews. “Every frame is named after a street of Venice.” Regardless of the flashforward rise of the GLCO brand in just a few years, Garrett Leight remains deeply connected to his “community,” as he likes to say. Browsing through his site, there are beautifully created stories of people from Venice wearing Garrett Leight designs.
So who is GLCO after all? It’s a guy who’s got soul. Artistic, laid back, a bit vintage and so very cool. But with soul. And after saying this, we took a look at the GLCO Spring Summer 2014 collection and, guess what, we were right. Absolutely right.
WHEN:
A pair of glasses with soul. For this season, Garreth Leight collection is a design of “happiness.” Staying true to the spirit of CA, their passion for handmade and their inspiration from “soulful individuals,” the summerish line encapsulates the soul of the GLCO brand as follows…
G L C O S P R I N G S U M M E R 2 0 1 4: What good is a product that has no soul? This is the driving force behind this collection and all of our collections. Our designs are more than just a pair of glasses. We are inspired by the most soulful individuals throughout history. We value the originality in people’s style, quality& character. The end result is a genuinely inspired frame, lens, case and everything else that comes with the Garrett Leight experience. My hope is that when looking at a GLCO frame, you see a character, a personality, and feel an energy that resonates within every one of us who wears them. The message with our creation is straight forward, keep it simple, classic, inspired, and the result is a pair of glasses with soul.
WHAT:
Why is it impossible to find a picture of Marlon Brando wearing glasses? Coming from the City of Angels which he so treasures, Garrett evidently fed himself not only with sun and good moods, but with cinema as well. The classic Dirty Harry kind. A traditionalist by heart,
Garrett’s special talent comes from cherishing heritage. Be it cultural or family related. He’s got an eye for reinventing the classics in very hip, modern designs. “I’m so into this generation, retro fifties-sixties looks, so the colours are very inspired by brands that were big in that era.”
Up next, find out the frame Garrett Leight likes best, the new designs introduced this summer and the best GLCO hits throughout the seasons.
Angelus
Why is it impossible to find a picture of Marlon Brando wearing glasses? Well, if I could, this is the frame I would put him in. Angelus is a character driven frame inspired by influential icons of the 1950’s Hollywood.
Rialto
A graceful elgant shape inspired by oversized optical frames of the 1980’s, most commonly worn in England. Rialto represents a look that is soft, delicate and most importantly alluring. Rialto is definitely designed to last.
Harding
From the classic carry over collection, the Harding is an original design that encompasses all that is classic and timeless. Inspired by iconic author, Arthur Miller, in the 1950’s, it is a vintage American retro frame. The Harding embodies the GLCO attitude perfectly.
Westminster
Westminster is a perfect fitting classic retro American square optical frame. This frame is a thicker take on some of our current classic designs. Westminster has timeless written all over it. One of GLCO best hits.
Venezia
Venezia is a classic shape with thin lines and a nice comfortable fit. It’s rich with intricate detail and combines antiqued metal details with custom acetate colors, and transparent temples showing off beautifully hand drawn filigree design. A must have for any GLCO fan.
Oxford
Oxford is also featured in sunglasses with CR-39 and layered mirror lenses. The thing titanium front, cured acetate temples, and beta-ti temple endings complete a refreshing new look for GLCO.
Lincoln
Garrett’s favourite piece of the season, his Lincoln frame was inspired by a vintage American frame most notably worn by Malcolm X. Reminiscent of iconic characters from our past that continually inspires the creative team at GLCO to design each collection. Lincoln features custom 5-barrel gold and silver hinges metal engraved eye wire, custom GLCO nose pads for perfect adjustment and fit, and rare mineral glass and layerd mirror lenses.
Hampton
Hampton is the GLCO take on the original acetate P3-shape which originated when glasses were first designed for style. Featuring one of a kind vintage plastic from Japan and custom 5-barrel hinges, this is our most popular frame.
Wilson
By popular request, Wilson is now featured with mineral glass sun lenses. Keeping true to the original British health insurance frame, the Wilson has authentic acetate windsor rim around this metal frame with detailed metal filigree.
WHERE:
Find Garrett Leight spring summer 2014 designs on shadesoriginators.com ft Venice beach, CA.