Black Optical

Each month, Black Optical founder Gary Black shares the frames he’s wearing, thinking about, and recommending most right now – from longtime favorites to new discoveries. Consider it a look inside his personal rotation and the design details that make each one worth his attention. — September 2026

Aplomado pairs featherweight Japanese titanium temples with a ’90s surf-and-skate inspired nylon front, but it’s the optical clarity that still surprises me, it’s the clearest I’ve ever experienced. I wear them on the track, on the trail, and by the pool. Becoming one of the rare pairs that just seems to belong wherever I am.

The Burnet takes me back to the late-aughts, when I first started working with SALT. – muscular Japanese acetate, French New Wave styling, and the kind of presence that made me fall for the brand in the first place. What I appreciate most is the lighter polarized lens; I can still read a book from the passenger seat or a menu on the patio without feeling like I need to take my sunglasses off.

The Ryder feels completely outside the traditional JMM canon, lean, industrial, lots of chrome, and futuristic enough that I already think of it as future vintage. It’s a collector’s frame in every sense, and I’ll admit I take a little satisfaction in knowing I was wearing mine a few weeks before Lewis Hamilton showed up in his.

The Niken is the only frame, and MYKITA the only brand, we still curate from the day Black Optical first opened its doors 20 years ago. I put it on nearly every one of my personal clients because it’s that effortless; my wife and daughter both rotate through Niken in different colors, which might be the best proof that great design never goes out of style.

Paloceras is one of the few brands that genuinely made my jaw drop the first time I saw the collection. The R2 is sculptural and organic, but still incredibly easy to wear, equally convincing as an optical or sunglass, and interesting without ever looking like it’s trying too hard.

The Brett is my daily eyeglass from one of Japan’s true design and manufacturing houses, and it captures what I love about Japanese refinement: substantial at first glance, but full of subtle detail

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