Influencers’ “get ready with me” videos have helped catapult many independent labels into the mainstream, including 45-year-old brand Le Specs. But the line is no stranger to the eyewear market.
The Australian eyewear brand has created trendy, affordable eyewear styles since its inception, and has been able to hold onto that relevance through a consistent strategy, staying in tune with its customers and embarking on creative collaborations that bring newness to the eyewear category.
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Le Specs was founded in 1979 and became one of the biggest eyewear brands on the Australian market. While it experienced success in its early years, the brand was acquired by a cosmetics company in the late ‘80s and ultimately shuttered after a few years. In 2005, Australian company Sunshades Eyewear bought the trademark for Le Specs and relaunched the brand, ultimately growing it back to its initial prominence.
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“We originally relaunched it thinking that we would capture the original audience, and that it would be a little bit older in terms of the demographic,” said Hamish Tame, chief creative and commercial officer at Sunshades. “What we quickly found was that [Le Specs resonated] among the youth scene and music festivals almost for the irreverence of the product and the nostalgia of it.”
Tame said Le Specs brought back many of its original eyewear styles, which gave the brand a nostalgic vibe that resonated with younger customers. The brand regained its foothold in the Australian and New Zealand eyewear markets, and embarked on a global expansion shortly after, first in Sweden and the U.K. and then the U.S., which is now the company’s largest market, Tame said. It is followed by Australia, Germany and the U.K. Tame noted that the business is also growing quickly in China.
The executive explained that much of the brand’s success can be attributed to its eyewear styles. At a time when chunky options were dominating the sunglasses category in the 2010s, Le Specs homed in on slim styles like its “Outta Love” ‘90s-inspired oval shades, which are still a bestseller to this day.
“There is always a relatively clean, modern and minimal aesthetic to what we do,” Tame said. “Knowing that it’s a heritage brand, there can be nostalgic references, and we can reference, say a ‘70s, Y2K or noughties sort of frame. There’s a big difference between finding an old, vintage frame and reproducing it versus how do you take that and how do you make it feel relevant and new? That purely becomes an inspiration or a reference, rather than something that you’re just copying.”
Tame said Le Specs doesn’t follow eyewear trends because it usually works on collections 14 months in advance of launch. Staying in tune with the brand’s customers has helped it develop styles that consistently resonate, underscoring the brand’s strategy: consistency and staying true to its original design codes.
“There’s consistency in wanting to stay in your lane,” Tame said. “Then, I think about it like, what can we nudge into, but does it still feel true to the brand? The aesthetic in a sense, it’s relative. We’re not overly embellished or whatever. There is a simplicity to what we do about being quite clean and modern.”
Price point is also a major component of Le Specs’ strategy. Le Specs falls under a mid-tier price point, which at its luxury retail partners like Nordstrom and Selfridges, offers an accessible entry point for customers looking for higher-end eyewear at a lower price. Most Le Specs styles average around $70 to $80 and all styles retail for under $200.
Collaborations are another large component of Le Specs’ business, and one that has helped it continue to resonate with customers for 45 years.
One of Le Specs’ earliest and most impactful collaborations was in 2015 when the brand partnered with designer Adam Selman, who at the time was gaining traction in the fashion world for his work with Rihanna, Tame said.
The collaboration set the tone for Le Specs’ following partnerships. Tame explained that Le Specs’ strategy when approaching collaborations is to bring innovation and creativity to the eyewear category and to work with unique partners.
Collaborations for the brand are not necessarily a sales driver like they are at other brands, but that they’re a way to expand Le Specs’ audience and craft, Tame said.
“What we found success with is that we like to get a fresh perspective on what eyewear could be from these collaborations,” Tame said. “The thing that’s really exciting is almost giving [our collaborators] no parameters and going, ‘What would they love to see in eyewear?’ and ‘What haven’t you seen been done before?’ It’s probably not from a business point of view how other businesses run — where collaborations are used to drive revenue. For us, collaborations are the true meaning of the word collaboration and coming together to be like, ‘What is your perspective on what we could do in eyewear?’”
Most recently, Le Specs embarked on a collaboration with Los Angeles-based jewelry brand Ian Charms, creating kitschy sunglasses embellished with charms, pearls and star motifs.
“The collaboration piece was always about innovation and creativity,” Tame said. “Being a relatively small brand internationally, what we realized was by doing things differently, that’s how we were cutting through.”
Going into 2025, Tame stated Le Specs’ focus is on brick-and-mortar retail. The brand has had recent successes with pop-ups and fixtures at department stores and travel retail, and plans to continue these initiatives.
One of Le Specs’ goals with retail is to continue attracting a younger, Gen Z customer, a demographic that Tame said is hard to capture among eyewear brands.
“The eyewear and fashion market sometimes are feeling a little bit overwhelmed or worried about how to approach Gen Z,” he said. “For us, it’s like how do we essentially take what we do in product and marketing, but now create more immersive experiences through our retail partners, through pop-ups and through different bits and pieces?”
With its 45 years in business and Gen Z’s newfound interest in the brand, Tame is confident in Le Specs’ continued success as it navigates more growth opportunities in the coming year.
“We’ve got a really good momentum and eye,” Tame said. “We know that we can stay ahead of the trends. I wouldn’t say that we’re dictated by the trends, but if you listen to what people are after and listen to what they’re saying between the lines, then you have an understanding of how trends can evolve. That can keep you ahead of what’s happening, rather than having to follow them.”