Gai Gherardi, the co-founder and designer of l.a.Eyeworks and pivotal figure in the eyewear industry, died Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 78.

According to a post on the brand’s Instagram page, Gherardi “passed away peacefully … with her life partner of 50 years, Rhonda Saboff, and her sister, Heather Gherardi, by her side.” WWD reported the cause of death was a brief illness due to cholangiocarcinoma.

l.a.Eyeworks began 46 years ago with a single storefront on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles with Barbara McReynolds, her inseparable friend 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 four and a half 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.

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.”

Gherardi was instrumental in helping to form a sub-group within the CFDA – the eyewear designers of the CFDA (edCFDA) – who collaborate on annual charitable ventures, including the celebrated Pride Eyewear Initiative, which has donated more than $100,000 to various LGBTQ+ causes since its inception.

“Gai’s unique, indelible, and unforgettable manifestation of herself was a mirror in which each of us could find permission to reveal new layers of our own selves — and the bravery to be fearless in doing so. She would want nothing more than for each of us to continue acting upon that encouragement,” said the Instagram post.

Rest in peace, Gai.