…for the world of sport: technical, precise..with fully integrated prescription capabilities
Gary Black’s independent sports eyewear brand continues to release new tech-driven sun styles in a market saturated by big names, with the advantage that from the outset the concept was all about raising standards. “I founded Kuro Athletics out of a personal need as an athlete. Having competed in multiple Ironman 140.6 and 70.3 races, as well as 29029’s 3-Day, 3x Mountain Marathon, I know first-hand the challenge of finding eyewear that truly performs. I didn’t want just another pair of sports glasses – I wanted to create something,” he says in his mission statement that introduces new products for 2026, Aplomado and Peregrine.
Kuro Athletics is built on three key pillars: clean design, premium materials, and first-of-its-kind technology. According to Black, a leader in independent optical retailing in the US who has designed the collection from the ground up, there is a gap in the market for Rx-compatible, high-performance eyewear and a need to raise the standard. Inspired by the precision and speed of falcons, each frame is designed for clarity, comfort, and durability –all while staying lightweight and logo-free. Initially launched around the concept of mono lens architecture, the brand has also expanded its offering to include classic Rx-able designs optimised for everyday sport, and weighing just 26 grams. Pictured above, the Aplomado wrap – inspired by the Aplomado Falcon – a swift and agile bird of prey – a frame with all round appeal for all sports activities
Made and engineered in Japan, the Aplomado has a streamlined wrap front combined with extremely sleek beta titanium temples, creating a product that is featherlight, minimal in structure, and which, importantly, has been tested by athletes. “Every aspect of Kuro Athletics reflects the athlete’s journey – whether running, cycling, or pushing endurance limits. We manufacture in Japan, ensuring each pair meets the highest standards of craftsmanship and quality. For me, it’s about providing athletes with the tools to perform at their best – without distractions.”
The Peregrine – named after the Peregrine Falcon – the fastest bird on the planet – has been conceived as a piece of sports gear that will enhance the reaction time and clarity of the athlete. Specifically designed for runners, the style features a mono-lens shield design with double injected temples with metal core and comes in different versions for men and women.
With minimallised visual branding (no massive logos), both new models come in extensive colourways which enhance the cool and attractive aesthetic of each piece, sometimes with a nostalgic nod to classic frames but always ensuring there is a solid contemporary look about the designs, however streamlined.
Kuro Athletics’ products boast prescription lenses offering vibrant colour enhancement, polarized clarity, and rapid light adaptive technologies – all via an advanced Rx program which utilizes digital free-form Rx technology to match high curvature wraparound designs. Lightweight and impact-resistant, the shield lenses offer panoramic vision both vertically and peripherally, “guaranteeing” says Black “an unrivalled visual experience for every athlete”.
Find out more about Kuro Athletics at www.kuroathletics.com
Kuro first appeared on Eyestylist.com in 2024: https://www.eyestylist.com/2024/07/kuro-athletics-where-action-creates-clarity/
Looking back: outstanding eyewear destinations that continue to thrive
In our reporting through 15 years, Eyestylist has visited and written about a large number of unique optical stores. Here are some of the outstanding ones that continue to do something bold and unique….
1 La Shaperie – featured on Eyestylist.com on 1st November 2014
It’s a brilliant edgy concept “for Shaves, Shades & Shapes” in the centre of Paris, where you can have a cool Parisian cut and select your next favourite frame. Located off the busy Rue de Rivoli in a cosy village-like atmosphere with several interesting bars and restaurants, the owners of La Shaperie are optical people with a terrific passion for independent labels….. Above: the store is still located in this central Paris location. Read the feature : https://www.eyestylist.com/2014/11/la-shaperie/
2 Gogosha has featured on Eyestylist.com multiple times in the last 15 years
Julia Gogosha’s Echo Park flagship is now close to 8 years old. When we talked to her for a feature in 2020, she described it with a twinkle in her eye. “A Tetris cathedral artspace playground is how I imagined it…with different sources of inspiration, including artists, sculptors and works of art for which I am passionate….” Read the Eyestylist feature from 2020: https://www.eyestylist.com/?s=Gogosha
3 Eyewear by Olga, Ontario – one of the first stores to appear on Eyestylist.com
Eyewear by Olga featured on Eyestylist.com in 2011 and in 2021. A luxury eyewear retailer, or – as owner Olga Trentin likes to call it – an ‘EYE PAD’ it was first founded in 2011. The ‘PAD’ is located in the centre of Mississauga, Canada in the neighbourhood of Port Credit. The interior of the store itself is a feast for the eyes; packed with colour, exploding with textiles and featuring artisanal furnishings throughout. Read the feature at https://www.eyestylist.com/2021/10/eyewear-by-olga-2/
4 Optica Toscana – another of the first stores to appear on Eyestylist.com in 2011
We first wrote about Optica Toscana when the designer of the Eyestylist website had just returned from a weekend in Madrid, and took some pictures for us. It has always been one of the stores in Europe that is consistently mentioned and recommended for its style and atmosphere and incredible selection of specs. The old-fashioned flagship shop (above – C/ de Hortaleza, 70 central Madrid) is a former seed store full of tiny old wooden drawers, bursting with exciting-looking frames. Blasts of colour are dotted around the wood displays.
Since 2011 we have visited Optica Toscana’s stunning Barcelona store and written about the shop in Mallorca which opened in 2015. Read the feature about the Madrid store at https://www.eyestylist.com/2011/11/optica-toscana-madrid/
5 reVOLVER Ibiza featured in July 2015
We always remember writing this feature in July 2015 as we got a really sensational response from Jean-Paul when we suggested it. Created in 2008 by husband and wife team Jean-Paul and Catherine Sanchez, reVOLVER has become a reference point for cutting-edge fashion and style on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza with a carefully curated brand mix and a fantastic choice of fine sunglasses… today the store is located at Carrer del Bisbe Azara 1, 07800 Ibiza. Read the feature: https://www.eyestylist.com/?s=revolver
To find more recommended and leading stores around the world featured on Eyestylist.com, visit our boutiques section: https://www.eyestylist.com/category/boutiques/
Ørgreen Optics: Acetate Cut and Imaginary Lines
Ørgreen Optics reveals new series of optical frames for Spring/Summer, continuing the refinement and essential aesthetics of their modern multi-material eyewear concepts
This month, the releases by the Danish eyewear company include Prime Plaza, a woman’s optical frame with an acetate front and titanium temples. The large open shape is the result of focusing on the clarity of the shape and colour rather than adding detail. The colour satin peach pink is one of the defining tones in acetate, softening the look of an otherwise bold design. Above: model wears Prime Plaza in the Acetate Cut collection at Ørgreen Optics – the frame is available in a range of colourways including Satin Peach Pink with Matt Gold (pictured), Honey Havana and Matt Gold and a sophisticated Satin Clear Blue with Matt Rose Gold.
With Imaginary Lines, the new model Navarro (below) perfectly demonstrates the current trend for sports-influenced aviator frames. This style from Ørgreen reimagines the 1980s classic aviator look in a unisex variation that is striking in its minimalist shape.
With its sleek double bridge design and lens shape, the lightweight Nivarro style translates a fashion favourite into an everyday wearable design that is light and comfortable. The frame comes in a choice of finishes, from Shiny Gun to Matt Gold. Find out more at www.orgreenoptics.com
Find out about more of the recent frames at Ørgreen Optics: https://www.eyestylist.com/2026/01/mido-2026-orgreen-optics/
Hormony by Hoffmann Natural Eyewear x Thierry Lasry
Classic charm meets extraordinary workmanship in buffalo horn collab collection
Model Hormony is part of the Hoffmann Natural Eyewear x Thierry Lasry collaboration, exclusively crafted in natural buffalo horn. Born from the savoir-faire of the two well-known eyewear brand “icons”, the collection brings together craftsmanship, refinement and a contemporary vision offering a finely curated series of optical and sunglasses designs – a total of four opticals and two sunglasses. Each piece is shaped from the highly desirable precious material, with artisanal techniques refined through decades of design tradition, giving every frame a unique, almost sculptural character. The styles are produced in a variety of luxurious colours, from natural horn colours such as that of Hormony (pictured) to bright tones of blue, red and green, created through specialised colouration techniques that render the material luxurious and stylistically bold. Above: model Hormony in the collaboration collection, Hoffmann Natural Eyewear x Thierry Lasry
“Horn eyewear is one of the most iconic objects in the history of optics: a precious, enduring piece that transcends time like a true work of art. Combining my designs with Hoffmann’s unmatched expertise is about offering a vision of absolute elegance and luxury.”– Thierry Lasry
Over the years, Thierry Lasry has built a remarkable constellation of high-profile collaborations: from luxury fashion houses such as Fendi, Acne Studios, Rhude, Cult Gaia… to global pop culture icons including Barbie, Smiley, Arizona, and PSG. The union with Hoffmann Natural Eyewear continues this legacy, and marks a new milestone in the designer’s pursuit of material excellence fused with creative design. Find out more at www.hoffmann-eyewear.com / www.thierrylasry.com
Paloceras releases Nouvelle Fiction models as shades
The frames, which echo the original collection with a softened sculptural and more commercial design, are fitted with protective sun lenses in fashion-forward tints
Nouvelle Fiction frames, a more wearable, everyday look inspired by the first collection by Paloceras – Pebble – with its inflated, exaggerated forms – offer a new direction for customers who seek Paloceras design with ready-to-wear ease. Five distinctive shapes are proposed – square, pentagonal, round, rectangular and cat-eye inspired – with a refinement enhanced by the original lens tints and expanded colourways which “shift the mood from interior precision to exterior presence.” As before, the voluminous effect is engineered with the brand’s signature DualLayer™ laminated construction to reveal depth, dimension and a subtle interplay of colour. Crafted from premium Mazzucchelli cellulose acetate and engineered with the same structural discipline as the previous sunglasses collection, each frame has been conceived to balance clarity of form with quality UV protection. Above: the new look in sunwear from Paloceras
The new collection was presented to Eyestylist.com at the trade-only eyewear event EYECON, NYC in March. The line was exhibited at the EYECON show alongside some of the young brand’s most avantgarde pieces, including Leopard Lace – a Paloceras and Djibril Cissé collaboration, and the Hydroceras Limited Edition introduced in 2025 (find out more at https://www.eyestylist.com/2025/09/3d-printed-eyewear-as-a-creative-language-paloceras-releases-hydroceras/).
https://www.eyestylist.com/2025/05/alexis-perron-corriveau-and-mika-matikainen-founders-paloceras/ – www.paloceras.comThis feature was written by Clodagh Norton. All rights reserved.