Richard Nicoll to launch his own eyewear line

ksubi x richard nicoll SS08/hintmag

Over the past five years, London-based, Aussie-raised fashion star Richard Nicoll whet the appetite of the sunglasses-buying public with two tantalising, limited edition eyewear ranges designed in tandem with his mates at cult Sydney denim and streetwear brand Ksubi - most recently for Spring/Summer 2012. Earlier this week in Sydney, he told frockwriter he is about to launch his own line.

[L to R] richard nicoll; calvin klein executive VP of global communications malcolm carfre; vogue australia editor edwina mccann; winner dion lee; australian fashion week founder and dubai fashion week creative director simon lock; general manager womenswear david jones, david bush/courtesy woolmark

Back in town this week as part of the Australian regional judging panel for the International Woolmark Prize (above - with winner Dion Lee, centre), Nicoll told frockwriter that before heading back to London, he had pencilled in some meetings with local eyewear manufacturer Sunshades Eyewear to discuss the first fully-fledged Richard Nicoll Eyewear line.

The 42 year-old eyewear company manufactures Ksubi’s eyewear, so Nicoll was already familiar with its work and it seemed like a good fit for his signature line, he said.

Nicoll is hoping to have samples ready as early as September, in time for his Spring/Summer 2013 show in London.

As it turns out, opticals run in the Nicoll family. 

“My dad was an eye surgeon and he used to collect vintage frames, so I grew up surrounded by it all and it kind of made sense” said Nicoll, whose Ksubi collab frames have had a definite vintage vibe – notably the first range that accompanied his Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Here are a few examples:

ksubi x richard nicoll SS08 - (top to bottom) the "jacob", "jason" and "justin"/courtesy ksubi

The largest privately-owned eyewear company in Australasia, Sunshades Eyewear has emerged as the designer go-to for glasses in these parts, making eyewear for, in addition to Ksubi, sass & bide, Morrissey, Oroton and Le Specs (the latter holding the Henry Holland license) and New Zealand’s Karen Walker, Sunshades’ most popular brand, that has become a cult hit world-wide.