l.a.Eyeworks began on September 9, 1979, when co-founders/co-designers Barbara McReynolds and Gai Gherardi opened a single storefront on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Inseparable friends since high school, the two envisioned l.a.Eyeworks as a vehicle to challenge the prevailing norms of eyewear with proposals for new, provocative revelations of the face. More than three decades and hundreds of frame designs later, l.a.Eyeworks encompasses two namesake retail stores in Los Angeles and a wholesale company that channels its influential designs to a global network of independent opticians and retailers.

Designed by hand and produced in limited editions, eyeglasses by l.a.Eyeworks are recognized for their bold shapes, imaginative handling of materials, technical innovations, and expressive use of color. With a playful and edgy lexicon that extends across the pop culture landscape, l.a.Eyeworks continues to redefine the look and language of what an eyewear brand can be. From award-winning retail spaces to collaborations with artists to cleaning cloths, every detail is a subject for creative investigation. Retail store windows, for example, serve as a messaging platform to invoke conversations about vision, gender, culture, social equality, and freedom of expression.

Since 1981, the brand’s signature portrait ad campaign, photographed by Greg Gorman, has featured an eclectic mix of more than 200 high-profile celebrities and cultural provocateurs, anchored by l.a.Eyeworks’ well-known tagline “A face is like a work of art. It deserves a great frame.”

Barbara McReynolds has been a CFDA Member since 2014.