Chris Bennett: For a fashionable pair of specs ask an architect

Much is made of the need to educate the next generation of optometrists, dispensing opticians, optical assistants and lab technicians but what about eyewear design?

Holding onto intellectual property in the eyewear business is not easy. At exhibitions such as Silmo the design giants have security guards and walls to keep prying eyes out. It’s a standing joke that designer brands are copied so quickly the lookee-likee copies are available by the second or third day of the show.

Whether you consider haute couture eyewear to be the Emperor’s new clothes or you buy into the hyperbole you can’t dispute that design sells product. However, young designers looking for a niche may well decide designing clothes, jewellery or buildings are safer bets.