From France: Kley's, lunettes françaises

A neo-retro artisan collection of frames by a Toulouse optician/designer

A small roster of young French artisan brands are making waves in Europe, several of which are the work of independent opticians, combining their technical knowledge and passion for their work with a love of design and handcrafted traditions of making spectacles – passed down through generations.

Kley’s lunettes françaises is a label by Simon Bousquet, a French optician from Toulouse. “I was looking for an original design for an acetate frame, and the Kley’s nose was born!” he told Eyestylist. “With this design, the optician can adjust the nose fitting and increase the comfort to fit each face. Each style is named after a member of my family…”

Above: Dany Sun by Kley’s – every frame has the distinctive adjustable acetate nose fitting

Model Pilar by Kley’s: handmade and 100% produced in France – the label exhibited at SILMO for the first time in 2018

The style of the collection is a delicate mix of a retro look with contemporary lines defined by slim, light stainless steel temples – and a fine, balanced, timeless colour palette. Elegant and characterful, the subtle yet distinctive nose fitting is combined with other artistic features: a very small delicate design at the temple in metal – described as “un clin d’oeil” or “blink of the eye”, a sign that links with the words which form the name “Kley’s” : clé (key) in French, and from English, “key” and “eyes“.

The Kley’s “family” of frames is made in the Jura (France), each design engraved with the words ‘Produite en France‘ on the temples. An authenticity card is also provided to show the provenance of the product. Today Kley’s is available in a handful of exclusive boutiques across France including L’Oeil de L’Odon (Aunay sur Odon), Colombette Optique (Toulouse), Lunetterie Laurent (Nimes) and Le Comptoir de la Lunette (Beauvais) to name a few. Look out for this label in future! To find out more visit www.kleys-eyewear.com