Cutler and Gross
Cutler and Gross is an English glasses brand, born in London in 1969.
The beginning
The brand, which was launched in 1969 by the opening of a store in Knightsbridge, in London, used to sell hand-made custom-made frames. The aim, which Cutler and Gross reached, was to transform traditional glasses design and give it a fashion appeal. Big success came in the following years, when the sunglasses line developed.
Their trendy items were presented during the 1982 Paris Fashion Week: since then, wholesale collection has increased, reaching more than 300 models. Nowadays Marie Wilkinson, who has worked with Mr. Cutler and Mr. Gross since 1982, leads the design, which takes places in the headquarters in Marylebone, in London, while hand-made production takes place in a factory in Domese di Cadore, in Italy.
The stores
In addition to its leading store in Knightsbridge, Cutler and Gross boasts a vintage boutique in Knightsbridge, listed among “the 100 London best stores” by Time Out London, and a ‘shop in shop’ boutique in Gloucester Road. Everyone, among these, offers its customers a custom-made service. Internationally, instead, there are: a custom-made boutique in Soho District, in New York City, inaugurated in 2013, and others in West Hollywood, Toronto, Hong Kong (in Landmark in Central) and a by appointment showroom in Iran.
The museum
In August 2011, Cutler and Gross opened its own museum, at the last floor of the historical Knightsbridge store: the floor boasts a permanent exhibition of more than 4000 frames from 1969. At the same floor there is the custom-made service mirrored room, where customers can create their own glasses or choose a custom-made service and have a pair done.
Projects and awards
In 2008 Cutler and Gross exhibited its new and old collections in Selfridges, in London. The following year it received the best accessory award by Princess Anna at UK Fashion Export Awards. 2010 was the year when the book Design Meets Disability, by Graham Pullin, was printed: it was dedicated to Graham Cutler and Tony Gross and its cover showed their glasses. Then, in 2011, the brand biennial magazine was born.
The glasses by the company had a big success and were worn on runways and magazines, such as Vogue, Glamour, Elle, Grazia, Marie Claire, Dazed & Confused, GQ, Vanity Fair, Esquire, The Financial Times and Forbes. This success made collaborations with many brands possible: in the years, limited edition frames were created for Mulberry, Thomas Tait, Alberta Ferretti, Martyn Bal, Victoria Beckham, Kingsman and The Secret Service.
The partnership with Erdem
In 2009 a partnership with the Canadian fashion designer Erdem was born; the result was the SS 2010 sunglasses collection. Those sunglasses, which were inspired by a Japanese fisherman wearing jauntily patterned pants and working on a background of black sand, were characterized by the juxtaposition of vivid colors on darker backgrounds and by a round frame which reminded the ’60s. Sunglasses were created with many finishings: black, black lace, turtle, neutral stone and a Kyoto pattern personalized by Erdem.
The partnership with Comme des Garçons
In 2009, instead, Cutler and Gross collaborated with Comme des Garçons: Future of Black collection consisted in three items with extra-dark grey lenses, aimed at creating a total black look, and contained in a woven case by Comme des Garçons.
The partnership with Martin Margiela
In 2010 there was a partnership with Franch brand Maison Martin Margiela. Sunglasses collection had two lines, Wrong Size and Anatomic, made by acetate and metal. The first one was born by the deconstruction of classical aviator frames by Cutler and Gross and by their new assembly with badly adapted sunglasses lenses, whose futuristic design was aimed at wrapping whoever wore them, with a personalized size range.
In the same year it started a partnership with Giles Deacon, whose Cats Eye line managed to mix a retrò inspiration and a modern touch.
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Contacts
16 – 18 Propeller Park, 400 NCR Business Centre, London NW10 0AB
To read the item in Italian click here.