LAZARE STUDIO revives quaint eyewear designs rooted in mid-20th century visual sobriety. Refreshed with a modern touch, the essence and trademark of the brand surely lays in the neo-retro signature look of their frames.
The History of Lazare Studio
Officially born in September 2020, Alexandre Caton’s brand LAZARE STUDIO started with a passion that emerged well earlier. Opening his very first optical store in Lyon in 2003 and then another one in 2010, Alex started out by building real working relationships and partnerships with the brands available in his stores prior to launching his own. Within those years though, he observed others and created a vision that he would later translate into an eyewear brand of his own. LAZARE STUDIO would combine vintage elements with modern design.
Ancestral materials, Japanese manufacturers
Each pair of LAZARE STUDIO glasses reunites two worlds that could not have met otherwise. On one hand, exclusive signature pieces made from ancestral materials sourced from top Japanese manufacturers, and on the other, the unsurpassed savoir-faire of the eyewear workshops found deep in the French Jura Mountains where the brand has their headquarters. It is there that trained craftsmen and women apply their long established skills and cutting-edge technologies in order to make the high-end spectacles the brand builds their reputation on. Completed with a physiological design approach, well-balanced lines and weight, each pair guarantees perfect comfort once mounted to later be worn by the customer.
Wabi-Sabi Philosophy
LAZARE STUDIO is committed to an environmentally and socially responsible approach. From selecting high-end suppliers who work with care and conscience, to choosing sustainable, durable materials, designing timeless eyewear, providing sleek and eco-friendly packaging, and determining fair pricing, Lazare’s ultimate goal is to provide eyewear that is made to last, in the pure Wabi-Sabi tradition*.
Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese philosophy rooted into the country’s culture for centuries and that was built in opposition to opulence and rich materials, in order to seek beauty in imperfection, sobriety and authenticity. While Wabi refers to the sense of fullness sometimes felt when in communion with nature, Sabi is the fascination towards objects that carry a story. Thus, Wabi-Sabi advocates for a sober and minimalistic life, sometimes to the point of austerity, where one must appreciate the temporary and imperfect nature of all things in this world.
Eyewear details that matter
At LAZARE STUDIO, all metal frames are entirely built out of components exclusively produced for the brand. Each of these components are thought and conceived in-house, then send over to a Japanese manufacturer to be moulded in the strict respect of tradition, using the ancient Yohaku banezai material. Tradition then meets modernity for a second milling operation using the utmost precise and up-to-date techniques, so to make the assemblage perfect. The components are then shipped back to France and assembled in the Jura mountains, once again associating ancient savoir-faire and advanced technology, the process allowing the finest possible adjustments on each frame.
The frames are finished off undergoing a precious metal galvanization procedure, followed by our soft-mat process developed at lazare studio, encasing it with two layer of epoxy protective varnish, offering unparalleled longevity on the long term.The final touch applied is our trademarked technique, "futureproof", a specific hinge integrating components minimizing friction, hence ensuring maximum durability.
"Futureproof" technology
On the acetate front, all frames are manufactured in France using the purest material sourced in Japan. Each front is the result of a complex machining designed to prevent any heating process of the acetate throughout fabrication, resulting in a much higher stability of the frame. Just like their metal sisters, they benefit from the trademarked futureproof technology, integrating, this time, exclusive component enriched with kevlar to the hinge, cancelling friction and ensuring a non- alterable movement mechanism. And to finish off, the lenses are processed in Italy, treated with a UV400 protection and applied with a multilayer anti-reflective coating on the inner face. Each of their tints are available for prescription lenses, either single-vision or progressive, and all made using the cutting-edge freeform technology, as well as all the bases and coatings specific to the collection.
There is good in taking time to observe, think and finally bundle all that knowledge into creating a product near perfection.