Eyewear brand Cubitts has collaborated with nine artists to create unusual spectacles including a model with different-sized lenses by David Shrigley, which will be exhibited during London Design Festival.

As well as the nine glasses, many of the artists and designers created and donated unique objects for the project, which will be auctioned off together with the one-off glasses to benefit UK creative arts charity Create.

Above: set designer Shona Heath’s glasses resemble a bow. Top image: artist Wilfrid Wood created hand-shaped glasses

The artists and designers taking part – Shrigley, Shona Heath, Laxmi Hussain, Yinka Ilori, Jaimus Tailor, Erica Toogood, Faye Toogood, Daniel Weil and Wilfrid Wood – received an open brief from Cubitts.

“We kept the brief as open as possible, asking each contributor to design a pair of humble spectacles with full creative freedom,” Cubitts founder Tom Broughton told Dezeen. “The only requirements were that the glasses had to be wearable and makeable.”

Asymmetrical lenses decorate David Shrigley’s glasses

Among the designs are Shrigley’s glasses, which feature asymmetrical lenses.

“I came up with this design by observing spectacles and noting that each lens is the same size,” said Shrigley, who also created an original artwork for the auction. “I thought maybe it would be interesting to make them different sizes, which is what I’ve done.”

“The kind of person who would wear these spectacles would be somebody who is looking to make an impression upon the world, such as the presenter of Question Time, Fiona Bruce,” he added. “I’m going to wear these glasses all the time.”

The Toogood sisters created a pair of silvery glasses

Faye Toogood and her sister Erika, meanwhile, designed a pair of silvery embossed spectacles and a pair of sculptural black glasses.

“Like a piece of Toogood furniture, the frames were initially modelled in the everyday materials of the studio – tinfoil and clay,” Faye Toogood said. “These raw, expressive maquettes were then handed over to the Cubitts artisans.”

Each of the sisters’ glasses, called The Tinker and The Sculptor, comes with a bespoke Explorer coat.

Ilori‘s colourful yellow glasses have a translucent design and are decorated with floral applications.

“My sunglasses were inspired by the calabash, which is an essential object to everyday life in Nigeria due to its versatility,” the designer explained, referencing the tropical bottle gourd that is grown for food and turned into various products.

The calabash informed Yinka Ilori’s design

“Once dried, it can be used for many different purposes like musical instruments, vessels, baskets, fishing, decorative objects and more,” Ilori added.

“The shape of the frame was modelled after what it looks like to cut through a calabash. You’ll also see floral ornaments and my signature pops of colour featured, which make them truly fun and unique.”

Artist Laxmi Hussain designed a pair of squiggly blue glasses for Cubitts

The glasses were made in Cubitts’ workshop in King’s Cross, London, using a variety of different techniques, some of which the brand developed especially for the project.

The auction will open on 14 September and close on 28 September, during which time the glasses will be on display in Cubitts’ newly opened store in Angel.

“We want to celebrate the vibrant and innovative talent that makes the UK’s creative scene so exceptional,” Broughton concluded.

The photography is by Richard Round-Turner.

Cubitts bespoke spectacle auction will take place from 14 to 28 September. See our London Design Festival 2024 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.

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