See - and be seen

If you were under the impression that wearing glasses was to be avoided at all costs, unless you couldn't see without them, think again. The "four-eyed" look - whether or not you have a genuine need for glasses - is here to stay.

In the calm, red-brick interior of the Kirk Originals shop in London's Covent Garden, each pair of hand-crafted glasses sits on its own tiny wooden shelf. Jason Kirk and his wife Karen have revamped the sterile, clinical image of an optician. As we chat, a Japanese water-garden bubbles away soothingly in the background.

The Kirk Originals shop, which opened last year, undertakes no diagnostic work per se but employs two qualified dispensing opticians who offer advice on visual problems. Kirk is keen to point out that his first concern is always for his customers to have a had a recent eye test, if prescription glasses are required. However, whether clients have imperfect vision or not, they flock to the shop to purchase fun, fashionable eye-wear. "Traditionally the UK has been slow to catch on when it comes to glasses," says Kirk. "In the States and on the Continent people have always been much more adventurous."

All Kirk Original frames are made of materials from the Sixties and Seventies, usually rare sheets of acetate purchased in shopping trips around the world and hand-cut at the company's own factory. Craftsmen may take two weeks to complete a pair. Each frame is barrelled for three days with wood-chips and pumice, then hand-polished.

The Kirks' customers include Oasis (both brothers), Seal, Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, the hip band Morcheeba and the actor Steven Dorff. A pair of one-off, customised frames can cost up to pounds 2,000, but the two basic ranges sell for between pounds 75 and pounds 200. Frames come in a wide range of colours and textures, and are fitted with maximum-UV-absorption, scratch-resistant lenses from manufacturers such as Nikon and Zeiss.

The company turnover is approaching pounds 400,000, with 85 per cent of production being exported. Nieman-Marcus, the leading American department store, sells Kirk Originals as a pure fashion accessory; the Japanese head to the trendsetting, Tokyo-based stockists Lunettes du Jura. Plans are afoot to open Kirk Original stores in New York, Tokyo and Paris.

Jason Kirk's tip for what's hot in summer frames includes snake-skin and copper laminate, with accompanying bright blues, reds and greens.

Alongside the success of high-fashion companies such as Kirk Originals, there is still great demand for the modern, independent, high-street ophthalmic optician who can offer expert eye-testing as well as an impressive range of designer label and National Health Service glasses.

Jeff Plaskow, a 30-year-old graduate of Glasgow Caledonian University, runs Optical World and Phillips Opticians, two flourishing family practices in London's unfashionable E10 and E17 respectively.

"I see a vast cross-section of the public," says Plaskow. "My catchment area is multi-ethnic and contains a high student population. Roughly half my customers receive eye tests and prescription glasses free on the NHS. We offer a choice of about 30 NHS frames with a certain cosmetic appeal. Even these frames eventually catch up with trends established by the likes of Kirk Originals."

Interestingly, Plaskow points out that there are no controls on how much a practice can charge for a pair of NHS glasses, and only the basic European Standard quality control on prescription spectacles has to be applied. "The part of my business that is NHS-driven must remain highly competitive," he says. "My clients rely on me to provide quality products free of charge, but plenty of others charge `top-up' fees."

Plaskow reports that a fundamental part of an optometrist's work is diagnostic. Many serious conditions can be diagnosed by eye-testing procedures: diabetes, glaucoma and even certain forms of brain tumour can all be spotted with accuracy.

The private side of Plaskow's business is growing daily, and brand names are highly sought after. "Prices for frames vary from pounds 99 to pounds 179. The lenses cost extra. There is a lot of peer-group pressure to buy what's cool, particularly among young adults."

As I leave Plaskow's E17 practice, a record producer comes in to inquire about a pair of non-prescription half-glasses, to lend him a certain fashionable gravitas in his work. It seems nobody is immune from a need to look the part.