Sloanes to a Punk Party
Sunglasses
ca. 1985 (made)
ca. 1985 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded this eyewear 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 designed this frame, titled ‘Sloanes to a Punk Party’, as an alternative to practical eyewear available at the time. He asked his office workers to go through their desks and bring out small items, which were then attached to the frames: chains, safety pins and paperclips. The design was popular with Goldsmith’s mainstream clients, who, as this design’s title suggests, could appropriate a bit of punk’s rebelliousness by sporting these frames.
A. Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame, titled ‘Sloanes to a Punk Party’, as an alternative to practical eyewear available at the time. He asked his office workers to go through their desks and bring out small items, which were then attached to the frames: chains, safety pins and paperclips. The design was popular with Goldsmith’s mainstream clients, who, as this design’s title suggests, could appropriate a bit of punk’s rebelliousness by sporting these frames.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sloanes to a Punk Party (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Plastic and metal |
| Brief description | Plastic sunglasses 'Sloanes to Punk Party' framed with metal hardware, made by Oliver Goldsmith Eyewear, Great Britain, ca. 1985 |
| Physical description | Grey plastic sunglasses framed with attached metal hardware of chains, safety pins, and paper clips. |
| Dimensions |
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| 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 | Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded this eyewear 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 designed this frame, titled ‘Sloanes to a Punk Party’, as an alternative to practical eyewear available at the time. He asked his office workers to go through their desks and bring out small items, which were then attached to the frames: chains, safety pins and paperclips. The design was popular with Goldsmith’s mainstream clients, who, as this design’s title suggests, could appropriate a bit of punk’s rebelliousness by sporting these frames. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.245B-1990 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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