Framed! Jack Nicholson

A few weeks ago in LA the Oscars had every fashion editor of every newspaper and glossy magazine glued to their television sets, or, if they were lucky, lurking at some glitzy party trying to spot who was wearing who in the annual red carpet fashion show.

As I perused the pictures and TV feeds I feverishly worked to analyse the elusive fashion accessory, which I had previously challenged in this very column, would not be seen on the red carpet.

The Americans are typically about three years behind Europe in terms of spectacle trends but, nevertheless, your top brass A-list super god should have transcended this generalisation through the use of internationally renowned stylists.

I surmised that any celebrity brave enough to wear bins, would be at the cutting edge of fashion and therefore, there might be a lesson for us all to learn.

My first surprise was that the humble spectacle was not as hidden away as I might have thought, and my choices for whom to highlight were plentiful, but the star who caught my eye, who stood out for more than just his frame alone, was Jack Nicholson.

The black plastic frame has seen many incarnations in the past 60 years and it is a wonder that it is still such an icon. Its most recent resurgence has been in the past six years.

I remember an optician telling me just after I had just launched my first range that next year, 'plastics would be all the rage'. Sure enough the black plastic, in one of its many guises, started flying off the shelves, but it seems that every year (and just about every day since), someone mentions how plastic frames are the next big thing.

Well, now we are seeing the big black acetate on Hollywood royalty, does that mean that the humble plastic frame has reached its peak?

Is this the zenith for the current lifespan of this optical workhorse? And if this really is the peak of the black bins' power, what's coming next?

But wait, there's more. What's going on with those lenses Jack? Are you planning some shooting after the awards? Are you dyslexic? Do you suffer from migraines? Or has your superstar stylist come to the conclusion that the next trend in eyewear is to accessorise your accessory?

I have noticed a trend on the catwalk this year where superstar brands (probably begrudgingly) allow their models to wear one or two pairs of specs for the runway shows. Interestingly, the lenses are tinted to match the outfits, or as one designer told me, 'it's just to make them look more suitable for the catwalk'.

I have a thing about our industry being snubbed by mainstream fashion so it seems that Nicholson has highlighted an interesting new trend, the spectacle designer's first tentative steps to accessory mainstream. Move over Elton. All hail King Nicholson.