S.A.D. Aviator Sunglasses
Coming off the heels of introducing our Made in England footwear collection, we’ve turned our gaze toward the sun. Fred has designed a sunglass for our times in collaboration with Kirk Originals. The appropriately named Seasonal Affective Disorder aviator will tint even the darkest of days with optimism.
The classic aviator silhouette is reimagined through the F.E. Castleberry lens in a storied Italian tortoise acetate boasting a brow bar, translucent yellow French lenses, and a modified tear-drop frame. Designed to never be taken off…even indoors. “They’re even better indoors. They whisper, ‘Keep your distance’ while maintaining the intimacy of eye contact.”
“I am very much a person who appreciates perennial things. Things like a British tweed sport jacket, an Adidas Rod Laver tennis shoe, a classic wristwatch, and Lacoste polos—the vintage ones. There are certain things that once you find it, you like it and it’s done. The S.A.D. aviator is designed with this perenniality in mind.”
Each handcrafted Kirk Originals frame begins with a single sheet of industry-defying 8mm thick cellulose acetate from the Mazzuchelli family, an Italian sixth generation run manufacturer established in 1849. In a process that largely resembles bespoke, a master craftsman employs a series of sanding spindles to shape and contour edges akin to the lines of a classic Porsche. This procedure is performed entirely by eye and experience, resulting in a hand-feel specific to each frame.
German-made steel hinges are then heat sunk into the back of the frame, an intentional choice motivated largely by discretion. Lenses, sourced from France, are painstakingly cut to size by hand. Temples are cut and hand-sculpted at 4mm thick to achieve optimal balance on the face. Sanding, polishing, and buffering are then performed on hard-to-come-by machines over 50 years old. We take great pleasure in the fact that the entire production process requires a total of 72 man hours to make each Kirk Originals frame by hand. The result is the kind of well-made, handcrafted frames Kirk Originals is known for, but with an unruly American air. This is luxury, made the old-fashioned way.