A gallery befitting spectacles, the design of Cubitts Islington is a response to the painterly perspective of the building at 56 Cross Street and the area’s artistic character, with nods to surrealism and Italian modernism dotted throughout. Spectacles line a single Nile glass shelf stretching the length of the space, each given its due as object worthy of reflection.

In a space characterised by its perspectival depth and tapering walls, the design looks to the characteristic architectural ambiguity of European surrealism. In particular, the paintings of Kay Sage, with their extreme vanishing points, provide a surprising geometry and colour palette of buttery yellow and aquatic greens.

Furnishings are derived from Sage’s enigmatic monoliths: a deep black central display desk based on the angles and shadows of works like Third Paragraph, and a custom-designed chaise-longue drawing on the painting No One Heard Thunder.

A few choice artworks further structure the experience of the space. Photographic works by Lee Miller cast the store through her surrealist lens, underlining a fascination with depth, light, and shadows. A group of FontanaArte prism-like pieces and handmade Omira magnification mirrors enhance the reverence for glass.

At the rear of the store, a testing room offers routine and enhanced OCT eye examinations. A custom-made unit displays acetate chips provides a focus for Bespoke services, while a dedicated space for on-site spectacle repairs sits to the side, furnished with Kurt Thut ‘Alu 3’ chairs.