Slits
Sunglasses
1968 (made)
1968 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created this sunglasses frame, titled ‘Slits', in 1968. Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded the company in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the firm with the aim of making glasses a fashion item. From the company’s offices in Poland Street, his sons A. Oliver and Ray Goldsmith built upon the company’s reputation for attention-grabbing designs and solicited celebrity endorsement for their products. Key clients included Lord Snowdon, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales.
A. Oliver Goldsmith's design for this frame was inspired by the French fashion designer Andrés Courregès, who staged a fashion show around this time featuring models wearing white sunglasses with moon-shaped slits. Goldsmith modified the design for this somewhat impractical but distinctive style.
A. Oliver Goldsmith's design for this frame was inspired by the French fashion designer Andrés Courregès, who staged a fashion show around this time featuring models wearing white sunglasses with moon-shaped slits. Goldsmith modified the design for this somewhat impractical but distinctive style.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Slits (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Plastic |
| Brief description | Plastic sunglasses frame 'Slits' with narrow slits in each eye, made by Oliver Goldsmith Eyewear, Great Britain, 1968 |
| Physical description | Solid white plastic sunglasses with hinged plastic arms and a narrow slit in each eye. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Ready to wear |
| Credit line | Given by A. Oliver Goldsmith, in memory of his father, Charles Oliver Goldsmith |
| Object history | Registered File number 1990/200. These glasses form part of a design archive of the British eyewear company Oliver Goldsmith. The archive, which consists of approximately 70 glasses frames from the 1930s to the late 1980s, was donated by A. Oliver Goldsmith, grandson of the founder, and former chief designer at the firm. A. Oliver Goldsmith donated the material to the V & A in memory of his father Charles Goldsmith. |
| Summary | The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created this sunglasses frame, titled ‘Slits', in 1968. Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded the company in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the firm with the aim of making glasses a fashion item. From the company’s offices in Poland Street, his sons A. Oliver and Ray Goldsmith built upon the company’s reputation for attention-grabbing designs and solicited celebrity endorsement for their products. Key clients included Lord Snowdon, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales. A. Oliver Goldsmith's design for this frame was inspired by the French fashion designer Andrés Courregès, who staged a fashion show around this time featuring models wearing white sunglasses with moon-shaped slits. Goldsmith modified the design for this somewhat impractical but distinctive style. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.244B-1990 |
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| Record created | October 4, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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