Cubitts

Cubitts is a British eyewear brand established in 2012 and based in King's Cross, London. It designs and produces optical frames and sunglasses, combining contemporary product design with traditional spectacle-making techniques. The brand's name refers to the Cubitt family of British engineers and builders, including Lewis Cubitt, whose work also provides an inspiration for one of the distinctive construction details used in Cubitts frames. A central feature of Cubitts' product philosophy is the use of acetate frames secured with custom pins. The pin-drilling process is carried out by hand and is designed around a rivet concept associated with Lewis Cubitt. In addition to giving the frames a recognizable construction detail, the approach is intended to make hinge maintenance easier than in some conventional frame constructions. The manufacturing and finishing process emphasizes manual skill, repairability, and visible craft rather than treating eyewear as a purely disposable fashion accessory. Cubitts operates a retail network that has included eighteen stores in the United Kingdom and two in New York. Its shops provide standard eyewear retailing alongside bespoke and made-to-measure services. The company also operates a spectacle-making workshop at its King's Cross site, where it holds classes intended to introduce customers and other participants to the techniques involved in making spectacles. The brand has extended its identity through collaborations, charitable products, and cultural projects. Its partnerships have included Hands of X, a project examining fashion, identity, ownership, and prosthetic hands; English artist Tracey Emin; graphic artist Camille Walala; British heritage clothing brand Sunspel; fashion designer Phoebe English; and menswear brand YMC. These projects have ranged from accessible accessories and fundraising products to limited sunglasses collections and experiments using workshop waste as a material input. Cubitts has also presented eyewear within a broader historical and cultural context. In 2018 it mounted an exhibition in London's St James's Market Pavilion examining the city's roughly six-hundred-year history of spectacles. The exhibition included a frame incorporating objects recovered from the River Thames through mudlarking. This combination of retail, education, design collaboration, and historical interpretation positions Cubitts as more than a conventional optical chain: it presents eyewear as a product category connected to architecture, urban history, craftsmanship, fashion, and personal identity.

Cubitts was established in 2012 as a British eyewear company with its base in King's Cross, London. The brand developed around the idea that spectacles could be treated as carefully made objects rather than simply as mass-market optical commodities. Its range includes optical frames and sunglasses, while its retail model adds bespoke and made-to-measure services. The company's frame construction is closely associated with hand-finishing. Cubitts uses custom pins to secure acetate elements, drawing on a rivet design attributed to Lewis Cubitt, one of the three Cubitt brothers who inspired the brand's name. Drilling for the pins is performed by hand, a process that requires precision and time. The construction is also intended to allow the hinges to be maintained more easily, supporting the brand's emphasis on longevity and practical craftsmanship. Cubitts expanded through a store network in the United Kingdom and New York. Its shops serve both as points of sale and as locations for personalized fitting and made-to-measure work. The King's Cross workshop further broadened the company's role by hosting spectacle-making classes, giving participants an opportunity to learn about the production techniques behind eyewear. From 2017 onward, Cubitts increasingly used collaborations and public projects to connect eyewear with wider questions of design, fashion, accessibility, and cultural history. Its work with Hands of X involved a temporary installation at the Charing Cross store in which prosthetic users could develop bespoke hand concepts. In 2018, the company worked with Tracey Emin on a charity cleaning cloth supporting the Terrence Higgins Trust. The following year, a cleaning cloth created with Camille Walala supported End Youth Homelessness. The brand also developed collaborative product projects. It worked with British heritage label Sunspel on a sunglasses capsule, with Phoebe English on two custom sustainable sunglasses made from workshop waste, and with YMC on another sunglasses collection. These collaborations extended Cubitts' reach into fashion while retaining its focus on eyewear and material experimentation. In November 2018, Cubitts organized an exhibition at the St James's Market Pavilion about London's six-hundred-year history of spectacles. The exhibition included a frame incorporating objects recovered from the River Thames through mudlarking, linking the history of eyewear to the city's material and social history. Taken together, Cubitts' retail expansion, workshop activity, collaborations, and exhibitions establish a brand identity built around British design, manual production, personalized service, and the historical significance of spectacles.

1. 2019Camille Walala charity accessory

   Cubitts releases a Camille Walala-designed cleaning cloth to benefit End Youth Homelessness.

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2. 2018Tracey Emin charity accessory

   Cubitts releases a Tracey Emin-designed spectacle-cleaning cloth in support of the Terrence Higgins Trust.

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3. 2018London spectacles exhibition

   Cubitts presents an exhibition at St James's Market Pavilion tracing London's history of spectacles across approximately six centuries.

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4. 2017Hands of X collaboration

   Cubitts works with Hands of X on a project involving prosthetic-hand design and hosts a related temporary installation at its Charing Cross store.

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5. 2012Cubitts is established

   Cubitts is established as a London-based British eyewear company.

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A craft-led British eyewear brand combining handcrafted frame construction, repair-conscious design, bespoke fitting, retail service, and cultural collaborations.

• Optical framesPrescription eyewear2012

  Cubitts' optical frames are built around acetate and hand-finished construction. A distinctive feature is the use of custom pins, drilled by hand, to secure parts of the frame. The design draws on a rivet associated with Lewis Cubitt and is intended to support hinge maintenance as well as provide a recognizable construction detail. The range is sold through Cubitts stores and can also be adapted through bespoke and made-to-measure services.

• SunglassesSun eyewear

  Cubitts produces sunglasses within the same craft-oriented design framework as its optical eyewear. The category has also been used for collaborations, including capsule or limited projects with Sunspel and YMC, as well as a two-pair custom project with Phoebe English that used waste from Cubitts' workshop as a material input.

• Bespoke and made-to-measure eyewearEyewear services

  Cubitts stores offer bespoke and made-to-measure services alongside standard eyewear retailing. These services are intended to provide more individualized frame selection, fitting, and production than an off-the-shelf purchase, reinforcing the company's positioning around personal service and optical craft.

• Spectacle-making classesEducation and workshop services

  At its King's Cross workshop, Cubitts runs classes focused on spectacle making. The classes extend the brand's craft proposition beyond finished products by giving participants direct exposure to the tools, processes, and skills involved in producing eyewear.

• 2019Camille Walala charity cleaning cloth

  United Kingdom

  Cubitts collaborated with graphic artist Camille Walala on a spectacle-cleaning cloth.

  Outcome. The release raised funds for End Youth Homelessness.

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• 2018Tracey Emin charity cleaning cloth

  United Kingdom

  Cubitts released a spectacle-cleaning cloth designed by English artist Tracey Emin.

  Outcome. The product supported the Terrence Higgins Trust through charitable fundraising.

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• 2017Hands of X

  United Kingdom

  Cubitts partnered with Hands of X, a project examining fashion, ownership, and prosthetic identity. A temporary mock shop at the Charing Cross store enabled prosthetic users to create bespoke concepts for a hand.

  Outcome. The collaboration created a public design and participation project connecting Cubitts' bespoke ethos with prosthetic users and questions of personal identity.

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• Sunspel sunglasses capsule

  United Kingdom

  Cubitts collaborated with British heritage brand Sunspel on a capsule collection of sunglasses.

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• Phoebe English sustainable sunglasses

  United Kingdom

  Cubitts worked with fashion designer Phoebe English to create two pairs of custom sunglasses using waste generated in the Cubitts workshop.

  Outcome. The project explored the use of production waste in custom eyewear design.

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• YMC sunglasses collection

  United Kingdom

  Cubitts collaborated with British menswear brand YMC on a sunglasses collection.

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• 2018Cubitts stages a historical eyewear exhibitionOther

  The brand sought to place spectacles within London's longer design and urban history rather than presenting them only as contemporary fashion products.

  What changed. Cubitts mounted an exhibition at the St James's Market Pavilion covering approximately six hundred years of London's spectacle history, including a frame made with objects recovered from the River Thames.

  Aftermath. The exhibition broadened Cubitts' cultural profile and connected its craft identity with London's material heritage.

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• 2019Cubitts releases Camille Walala charity cleaning cloth

  Cubitts worked with graphic artist Camille Walala on a spectacle-cleaning cloth released to raise funds for End Youth Homelessness.

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• 2018Cubitts releases Tracey Emin charity cleaning cloth

  The brand released a spectacle-cleaning cloth designed by English artist Tracey Emin, with proceeds supporting the Terrence Higgins Trust.

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• 2018Cubitts presents exhibition on London's history of spectacles

  Cubitts staged an exhibition at the St James's Market Pavilion covering approximately six centuries of spectacle history in London, including a frame made with objects recovered from the River Thames.

  Other
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• 2017Cubitts launches Hands of X collaboration exploring prosthetic-hand design

  Cubitts collaborated with the Hands of X project and hosted a temporary mock shop at its Charing Cross location, where people using prosthetics could develop bespoke hand designs.

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• Cubitts collaborates with Sunspel on sunglasses capsule

  Cubitts partnered with British heritage clothing brand Sunspel on a capsule collection of sunglasses.

  Product launch
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• Cubitts and Phoebe English create sustainable sunglasses

  The brand collaborated with fashion designer Phoebe English on two pairs of custom sunglasses made using waste from Cubitts' workshop.

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• Cubitts collaborates with YMC on sunglasses collection

  Cubitts partnered with British menswear label YMC on a collection of sunglasses.

  Product launch
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1. Cubitts