Oliver Peoples is an American luxury eyewear brand established in 1986, and owned by Luxottica.[1] The brand is sold in Oliver Peoples boutiques, online, and in fashion boutiques and department stores throughout the world. Oliver Peoples eyewear is designed in Los Angeles, Italy, and Japan.[2]
Oliver Peoples was founded by Kenny Schwartz, Larry Leight and his brother Dennis Leight in 1986.[3] Before they launched the company, Schwartz and Larry Leight worked as opticians. They would draw glasses on the celebrities in Vogue magazine.[4] In 1984, Leight designed a frame, later named "Identity,"[5] that was fabricated for pop artist Andy Warhol.[6] Warhol wore the glasses for an editorial spread published in the German magazine Männer Vogue in 1987.[7]
In 1986, while Schwartz and the Leight brothers were searching for eyewear brands to stock their new boutique in West Hollywood, California,[8] they purchased a bulk lot of American brand name frames in their original packaging for $5,000 at an auction in Connecticut.[9] Contrary to popular belief and often advocated by Larry in the past for marketing purposes, the evocative brand name was not created accidentally while going through the inventory where a receipt was found naming the frames' original owner as Oliver Peoples, it was brainstormed by the founders including Cindy Leight starting as the abbreviation of OP, then as O Peoples and Oscar Peoples in referencing to the Oscars and finally settling on Oliver Peoples partially with inspiration from the novel Oliver Twist.[10] Early manufacturing partnership was with the Japanese eyewear maker EYEVAN from the city of Sabae, Fukui.[11]
In 2006, Oakleyacquired Oliver Peoples for $46.7 million.[12] In 2007, Oakley was purchased by eyewear giant Luxottica.[13] In 2016, Rocco Basilico became the CEO of Oliver Peoples. After his first year at the helm, Basilico earned himself a place on the famed Forbes' '30 Under 30' list.[14] To date, Basilico has helped increase Oliver Peoples' retail footprint from 14 to 42 global stores.[15]
The Gregory Peck in both Espresso and Raintree, along with blue and polarized green clip ons.
In 1994, Oliver Peoples and Sir Elton John collaborated to create a series of frames with a portion of the proceeds going to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. This marked the first collaboration with the brand.[27]
In 2009, Oliver Peoples collaborated with actress Zooey Deschanel for a signature pair of sunglasses called "Zooey."[28]
In 2012, Oliver Peoples collaborated with Anthony Peck,[29] who is a longtime customer and the estate of Gregory Peck and released the eponymous line of optical and sunglasses frames worn by the actor as Atticus Finch in the film To Kill a Mockingbird (film) for the 50th anniversary of the movie and foldable versions were also released in 2020,[30] these frames often comes with a gold embossed card and a printed scene from the iconic film.
In 2013, Oliver Peoples collaborated with French women's brand Isabel Marant.[31]
In 2015, Oliver Peoples collaborated with Rodarte[32] Public School.[33] and fragrance brand Byredo.[34]
In 2016, Oliver Peoples collaborated with the luxury fashion label established by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, The Row.[35]
In 2019, Oliver Peoples collaborated with the Grant estate to launch the Cary Grant style inspired by Grant's character in the film "North by Northwest".[36]
In 2020, Oliver Peoples collaborated with premium audio company Master & Dynamic.[37]
In 2021, Oliver Peoples collaborated with Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli,[38] and fashion house, Frère.[39]
In 2023, Oliver Peoples collaborated with New York womenswear brand Khaite.[40]
Boutiques
As of 2026, the Oliver Peoples brand has approximately 48 stand alone retail boutiques around the world in North America, Europe and Asia.[41]
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