Boutiques

Mexico: artists Kobayashi / Aumann at Dr.York optical boutique

September 16th 2025

Launched in May, the installation explores diffused edges, gradients and dynamic colour transitions inside the Dr.York optical store

Mexico City’s Dr. York shares their installation project by renowned Mexican artists Pablo Kobayashi & Lucia Aumann (@pablokobayashi and @lucia.aumann. The installation creates a bold statement for the store which expresses their commitment to arts collaboration and close integration with the Dr. York community.

“We decided at the end of 2024 to begin defining possible ideas,” the artists explain. “The final piece acts as a ‘modulator’ of the dynamics that José and Laura generate [in the store] and that uniquely define the characteristic atmosphere of the place.

A series of characters manifest behind the curtain asynchronously, suggesting that something is happening. In a constant game of colours that intensify and attenuate with each change in pressure, you see something regardless of whether it is visually perceived as a defined silhouette. The curtain does not divide. It rather suggests other layers, other depths, and other presences.” Above: the installation “ESPECTROS’ by Pablo Kobayashi and Lucia Aumann – at Dr.York

Independent optical store, Dr. York in Mexico City – the installation brings a completely different experience to those that enter

“We deeply appreciate the opportunity that José and Elena gave us to integrate ourselves even more into a project that we are so fond of. Over time, it has become one of those corners that feels familiar and close in our immense city, Mexico City….” Pablo Kobayashi & Lucia Aumann

MIDO 6-8 February 2027. Welcome to Eyewearland

Independent optical retailer, Dr. York

Dr.York is one of Mexico City’s leaders in independent optical retailing and specialists in finely curated eyewear collections. They have stores in Mexico City and Guadalajara and offer high-end and luxury frames from brands that include LAPIMA, Lazare Studio, AHLEM, Paloceras, Kuboraum, Oscar Magnuson, Theo and Moscot. Their stores are designed more like showrooms. They provide a unique eyewear consultation and buying experience for their close-knit local communities. Find out more on Eyestylist: https://www.eyestylist.com/2023/04/dr-york-colonia-americana-guadalajara/

Mexico’s optical retailer – Dr.York, Mexico City

About the artists

Pablo Kobayashi is a Mexican architect and designer whose work extends to a wide array of material explorations. The artist Lucia Aumann, who is working with Kobayashi, is a specialist in materiality and uses textiles and pneumatic systems to explore “self-organising systems, morphology and perception”. Find out more: https://dryork.mx/blogs/refraccion/espectros-x-kobayashi-aumann

Boutiques

Paris Design Week: DEGree store and FACE A FACE

September 11th 2025

FACE A FACE 30th anniversary celebrations continue with installation by Valentin Lebigot

FACE A FACE has teamed up with the designer, Valentin Lebigot to unveil a special installation at the DEGree (Design Eyewear Group) flagship store on Rue Pernelle – for Paris Design Week. First opened in July 2023, the DEGree flagship store brings together all the sunglasses collections from the nine brands of Design Eyewear Group. For this anniversary, the showroom has been transformed under the creative direction of Valentin Lebigot, with a graphic, multi-coloured interior set featuring custom-made displays. Every element in the design of the displays has been conceived to highlight FACE A FACE sunglasses and reveal their sculptural qualities and beautiful colours.

The installation is showing throughout Paris Design Week, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will continue through to the weekend of the Silmo Paris trade fair (26th to 29th September), as a unique conclusion to the 30th anniversary celebrations. Above: installation by Valentin Lebigot, with sunglasses by FACE A FACE

DEGree store in Paris, for Paris Design Week and SILMO

The collaboration between the brand and the designer began last March when they designed a re-edition of the Halo mirror, an iconic model by Valentin Lebigot which was then distributed to the brand’s partner opticians. Designed as a nod to the intimate moment when one discovers a frame in front of their reflection, this mirror represents “a dialogue between design, gaze, and identity”. After the success of the collaboration, FACE A FACE asked Lebigot to create a new set for the store with point-of-sale materials designed to be perfectly in tune with FACE A FACE’s avant-garde spirit and design style.

DEGree store in Paris: the displays in situ

About Valentin Lebigot Committed to a local and sustainable self-production approach through 3D printing, Valentin Lebigot has been developing for several years a graphic and colourful universe, perfectly in sync with the creative and bold values of FACE A FACE. Inspired by the 1980s Memphis movement, he creates colourful, graphic, responsible designs, showcased in prestigious venues such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation and the Palais de Tokyo.

4 Rue Pernelle, 75004 PARIS, France – find out more at www.faceaface-paris.com

Boutiques

MYKITA in Bangkok

September 5th 2025

MYKITA has opened a second store in Bangkok – in centralwOrld

The store is the German brand’s largest location in Bangkok and is situated in centralwOrld, known as one of Asia’s largest lifestyle destinations.

“Nearly 20 years after MYKITA first arrived in Thailand, it is such a privilege to open a second store in Bangkok with the same longstanding team and partners who have supported the brand here from the start,” says MYKITA founder and creative director, Moritz Krüger. “It’s a reflection of the close bond we enjoy with a community that values the craftsmanship and attention to detail that define MYKITA. I’m truly happy and grateful to see this new chapter take shape.”

Minimalist architecture meets advanced optical technology in the new store. Designed by the MYKITA in-house architecture team, the clean interior lines and refined material palette create a calm, light-filled setting for exploration and consultation. This understated environment provides a visual counterpoint to the surrounding retail and cultural hub, inviting visitors to slow down and engage with the design details in the collections. Above: the new MYKITA in Bangkok

The store offers the complete MYKITA portfolio, including the optical and sun frames, limited-edition collaborations, and the latest seasonal releases. There is a full range of optical services, including precise eye exams, personalised style consultations, and lens customisation with ZEISS technology. MYCARE services ensure ongoing maintenance, repair, and longevity for every frame, reflecting MYKITA’s commitment to responsible design and conscious consumption. MYKITA’s first store in Bangkok opened in 2019 and is located at Sindhorn Village (Room C115/2), Soi Langsuan – read about the store here on Eyestylist.com: www.eyestylist.com/2019/11/mykita-bangkok/

Unit B111, 1st Floor, Zone B (CENTRALWORLD) 4, 4/1-4/2, 4/4 Rajdamri Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Boutiques

Jacques Marie Mage (JMM) Gallery, London, UK

September 2nd 2025

Luxury eyewear: Jacques Marie Mage (JMM) ‘Gallery’ opened in the Spring on Chiltern Street

Offering a signature selection of limited-edition eyewear, leather goods, jewellery, finely curated artifacts and ‘exceptional objects’, JacquesMarieMage London is conceived as a modern approach to the traditional aesthetic of the old-world gentleman’s club. The store interior was created by the French interior designer Jacques Garcia to bring both authenticity and originality to what is the first retail outlet for JMM in the UK.

“With an almost futuristic or innovative approach, we go back in time in order to begin a narration at the beginning of the 19th century and invite the discerning collector to join us on our travels,” said Garcia about this concept. “What inspired me was 19th century English literature, philosophers from across the Channel, those British films from the 1950s in black-and-white where mist is omnipresent, and of course the English taste for extremely lively woods – mahogany, for example – and strong colours.”

In line with all JMM Galleries (there are already ‘JMM galleries’ in several cities including Tokyo, Milan and Paris), a feature of the location is its foundational furnishings, a suite of custom creations produced by Paris-based furniture design firm Hervet Manufacturier to complement the gallery’s distinctive offerings and custom decor, including a large-scale, multi-piece painting entitled Vanitas Vision, created by Andy Dixon. The Vancouver-born, Los Angeles-based artist creates bright and opulent works that often reference Renaissance-era portraiture or Flemish still lifes. He integrates odd juxtapositions and electric palettes into colorful canvases that reflect upon the rituals and totems of affluence and privilege.

“My work always samples from art history and I’ve explored the Vanitas themes many times,” said Dixon. “These pieces mark a breakthrough in how things look, though. They’re among the first paintings that have this kind of punk cut-n-paste aesthetic to them and I plan on carrying that into all pieces moving forward!” Above: the facade of JMM on Chiltern Street – one of London’s most exclusive shopping destinations

An opulent interior – the ‘gallery’ ambiance is based on the aesthetic and exclusivity of one of London’s private gentleman’s club

A display of the signature of JMM, the design, aesthetic style and ‘provocative artistry’, the London Gallery embodies what the LA company describing it as an “especially sophisticated sense of English eccentricity, yet another rarified experience that encourages collectors to ‘Embrace The Spectacle'”.

Jacques Marie Mage JMM Gallery, 20-22 Chiltern Street, London W1U 7QD

The JMM Gallery in London opened on 28th February 2025. For more information: JacquesMarieMage.com

Boutiques

Independent eyewear store in Tokyo: tö, Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan

August 1st 2025

Independent eyewear store in Tokyo: An unassuming residential area near Tokyo boasts one of the most thoughtfully designed and carefully curated eyewear galleries, owned by eyewear expert and stylist Hiromi Toh, and conceived according to the Japanese word, “natsukashii”

Styled after Hiromi Toh’s Japanese name Tou, the optical store, tö eyewear lab is more like a gallery than a traditional eyewear shop. After a career as an eyewear stylist in mass media, Toh created the space with the idea of proposing a new world of eyewear, where consultations are by appointment only. The eyewear enthusiast is invited to discover this creative world quietly, at their own pace, without the noise and distraction of a more common retail space.

Located in a residential area outside central Tokyo, there are no signboards on the building and no traditional shop front. tö is located along a quiet street, close to a temple, and like an art gallery features a large glass window displaying special eyewear designs as works of art. To the right of the window, there is a large striking red door. Behind this door is the extraordinary world created by Toh, based on the Japanese concept of “natsukashii” – a word that evokes a soft and warm feeling of nostalgia, neither specifically Japanese, Western nor Asian. Above: the interior of the eyewear lab, tö, located in a quiet street

A wall of dark Japanese antique furniture is installed on one side of the space, like an installation – the drawers are used to store some of the frames

Minimal areas in the space present the small pieces of eyewear with a sense of artistry

In the corridor just after the entrance, an impressive plate of copper, that has been left to develop its own natural verdigris patina, welcomes you inside. You then enter the main space, discovering a gigantic red wall evoking ancient Asia, and are met with an artwork of rust behind a counter.There are hardly any eyewear frames on display in the store.

Unique eyewear consultations at tö

“My curated collection of frames can be found in the shelves of the antique Japanese furniture,” explains the owner with pride. “Consequently, the consultation begins by understanding the customer and their image of eyewear, before handpicking frames from within the shelves, especially for them. I always try to select a frame that challenges that preconceived idea, all the while surprising my customer. The closed shelves support this sense of surprise and delight that they feel during their journey in my shop. When a frame exceeds their expectations, I know I have achieved what I set out to do.”

With her expert eye and appreciation of fine eyewear design, which she has developed over many years of working in fashion and the optical business, Hiromi Toh has created a unique eyewear space with a personal touch that is very unusual in optical retail. Find out more at www.to-o.co

2-6-21-1F Shinmachi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo