A Toronto Eyewear Store by Reflect Architecture Pays Homage to ‘80s Glam

Eyewear from Sim Bains’ All Eyes on Me boutiques in Ontario’s Oakville and Milton neighborhoods has been spotted on the faces of fashionable Canadians for years now. So Bains knew that when opening a shop in his native Toronto, he needed to up his game. He enlisted the locals at Reflect Architecture, who took a look at his extensive line of Cartier eyewear and hit upon the idea of designing the boutique around the box itself.

“We had a rich history to indulge in,” says principal Trevor Wallace. “As global boutique fashion houses look to street wear for inspiration, there is a dynamic narrative coming forward to unite unique aspects of the cultural spectrum through design and fashion.” This meant red velvet walls as dramatic as the interior of a ring box juxtaposed against vintage grey stone, and center rows of table displays arranged like a runway. While waiting for exams in the crisp white lab in back, guests can sip espresso or cognac on Tom Dixon’s groovy seating. Wallace’s most treasured detail, he says, “is the matte, blasted fade on the top-lit mirrors inspired by the excess of the 1980s.” After all, just a touch of too much always looks good.