Eyewear brand l.a.Eyeworks shook up the optometry scene with striking, gender-defying ad campaigns in the ’80s. Greg Gorman’s black and white photography captured the likes of Andy Warhol, RuPaul, and Debbie Harry, reshaping eyewear as a beautiful accessory. For the new flagship in Los Angeles, the brand continues to put a new perspective on the conventional, tapping local office Escher GuneWardena Architecture for a cavelike spin on retail design.
The flagship repurposes two unconditioned industrial buildings that were previously tropical plant nurseries. The need for insulation evolved from a technical detail to the defining concept of the space. Escher GuneWardena used the insulation to craft rugged walls and ceilings, finished with a thick coat of silver paint. The hue was chosen in reference to Andy Warhol’s silver-foiled workspace, The Factory, tying the brand’s history with the artist into the design.
In contrast to the uneven, rough surfaces, hard angular walls display products and separate the retail floor from back-of-house areas. They frame steel plinths that display more eyewear at the center of the space, reflecting some of the brand’s edginess. Skylights break up the cavernous ceiling, balancing the industrial elements.
One wall departs from the rest. Its mirrored surface identifying and concealing an in-house finishing lab, where the brand creates custom tints and bespoke lenses. Inside, bright blue shelving reference l.a.Eyeworks’ previous store.
A pergola in the back and an event space in the second building seek to make the flagship a true campus for the brand, which the architects planned. The exterior continues the same silver finish used within, tying interior and exterior, brand history and brand future, together.