Matsuda Eyewear: The History and Craft Behind the Icon

There is no mistaking a Matsuda frame for any other, with its bold architecture, quirky ornamental flourishes, and an astonishing wealth of tiny details that make every pair akin to a piece of antique jewelry. But where did this peculiar aesthetic come from? And what does it take to produce eyewear of such complexity and beauty? To crack the mystery that is Matsuda, it makes sense to start with the designer who gave the brand his name and follow him to the Art Nouveau facades of Paris, then the fashion runways of Tokyo, and finally all the way to the workshops of Sabae where Matsuda eyewear takes shape. Shall we?

For Mitsuhiro Matsuda, fashion was never limited to clothing. Upon graduating from Tokyo's prestigious Bunka Fashion College, he caught a steamship to Paris in 1962, undertaking this journey that was about to become pivotal for his creative awakening with his close friend Kenzo Takada (yes, the future founder of Kenzo). The French capital impressed young Matsuda deeply, especially its magnificent Gothic cathedrals, amazing nineteenth-century ironwork, and the imaginative ornamentation in the styles of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. What others might barely notice - a delicate pattern of a wrought-iron gate, an arch carved with particular grace, or the repeating geometry of an old facade - became his inspiration. These elements were eventually going to find their way into Matsuda's clothing and, later, his eyewear.

After returning to Tokyo, Matsuda founded his fashion company Nicole Co. in 1967, naming it after his muse, a model that caught his eye on the cover of ELLE magazine while he was in France. His designs stood out for their rich patterns, exquisite lacework, geometrical embroidery, and other details through which the designer's fascination with art shone anew. His company became successful, and Matsuda ended up opening several boutiques not just in Tokyo, but also internationally. He also established the influential Tokyo 6 group, which eventually resulted in the emergence of Tokyo's own fashion week. His runway presentations often went beyond what was traditionally considered appropriate and sufficient for fashion shows, incorporating choreography, performance, and visual art.

When Matsuda introduced his first eyewear collection in 1989, he had a chance to bring his architectural imagination to a completely new medium. Eyeglasses presented by him became miniature works of art, featuring elaborate metal engravings, unusual bridges, and ornamental components that recalled antique jewelry and old-world architecture (echoes of his life in Paris). The early Matsuda frames enjoyed great success that soon expanded outside the fashion industry. Matsuda glasses appeared in major Hollywood productions, including Terminator 2 (Sarah Connor's iconic round double-bridge sunglasses), Beetlejuice, and Boomerang. These pieces are still valued and coveted by eyewear collectors today.

Following Mitsuhiro Matsuda's passing in 2007, the brand eventually returned to the market in 2011. Remarkably enough, some of the craftspeople who had produced the original frames back in the day got back with the company to work on the revived collections. Today, Matsuda's main focus is on the reinterpretations of archival designs, as well as developing new creations that would honor and preserve the founder's unconventional artistic vision.

While inspiration for Matsuda glasses has its roots in France, the production of the frames is based in Sabae, a Japanese city renowned as an eyewear manufacturing center with a great number of workshops. The brand describes its process as involving around 250 manufacturing steps, and the development of certain designs is claimed to take as long as two years. Precision machines play an important role in achieving accuracy and compliance with standards. However, Matsuda artisans, their trained hands and eyes, are still valued the most and have the final sway over how each individual pair will end up looking and feeling. 

For acetate designs, Matsuda uses top-shelf Japanese acetate derived from cellulose. With its dense structure, rich colors, and smooth finish, it allows craftspeople to come up with beautifully sculpted frames that have particularly expressive contours and silky, polished surfaces. Distinctive patterns and translucent finishes are why eyewear artisans love this material so much in the first place. Before a Matsuda acetate frame reaches assembly, it undergoes several stages:

• Aging: The acetate is cured for approximately three months before production - that allows for improved dimensional stability.
  
  
• Cutting: Matsuda positions patterned sheets in a special way, so that the colors and markings fall where intended, then cuts the shapes manually or using a five-axis CNC router.
  
  
• Sculpting: Frame fronts and bridges are shaped by hand; manual work is particularly important in points where the contours affect how the glasses rest on the nose.

• Reinforcement and riveting: Ultrasonic heating or lamination is used to insert metal wire cores into temples - this is done to help maintain their shape. In some Matsuda designs, rivets are also secured by hinges.
  
  
• Tumbling: To achieve the smoothness of the surface, frames get polished for more than 100 hours in a special mixture that contains bamboo, walnut shells, and polishing compounds.
  
  
• Hand polishing and assembly: The finish is refined by Matsuda's master polishers who spend hours smoothing the joins where the temples meet the front. As a result, frames turn out glasslike, they don't catch on hair or clothing. Then lenses are fitted, and final adjustments are made to the glasses.

It is worth noting that the final hand-polishing stage requires a lot of experience. To qualify for it, Matsuda's artisans are obliged to complete a ten-year apprenticeship. Something like polishing a pair of glasses might seem simple, but with this brand, it's the result of years of acquired skill.

For its metal designs, Matsuda incorporates several different alloys. The preferred choice is titanium, thanks to its outstanding strength-to-weight ratio, durability, and hypoallergenic properties. Stainless steel is used because it provides corrosion resistance and is particularly suitable for decorative stamping and pressing. Selected for its combination of elasticity and strength, beryllium copper lends itself well to intricate cast components. Finally, the exclusive Precious collection makes use of Sterling silver.

Metalworking comes with an equally demanding series of operations, and many of the processes required for the production of Matsuda's metal frames involve skills passed down through generations of Japanese artisans. The manufacturing process has several key stages:

• Machining: Matsuda uses diamond-tipped tools that cut precise edges and intricate shapes. If a component is too complex and can't be machined, it is made through casting, using special molds developed from handcrafted prototypes.
  
  
• Pressing: To shape metal parts, including temples and rim wires, the brand relies on powerful hydraulic presses that exert over 100 tons of pressure.

• Engraving: For its iconic fine decorative patterns on rims and other components, the company employs master engravers who create them by hand. Matsuda claims to work with one of the last remaining master engravers in Japan's Fukui Prefecture!
  
  
• Soldering: There are 10–15 solder points in each typical frame - in Matsuda designs, they are carefully joined by hand with the help of specialized fixtures that keep the components aligned perfectly.
  
  
• Polishing: To this end, a drum polisher is used where metal components spend more than 24 hours before they receive extra manual finishing. The surfaces also get inspected thoroughly by craftspeople for any imperfections.
  
  
• Plating and assembly: Selected Matsuda frames are electroplated with genuine precious metals - 22.5-karat gold, palladium, or ruthenium. The components are then assembled, the lenses are fitted, and the frame is adjusted and ready to be worn.

Devoting this close attention to its frames, Matsuda is just as careful about the choice of lenses for its sunglasses. They are selected to complement both the design and the intended use of the model. Each pair provides 100% UVA and UVB protection, with seven-layer coatings that include anti-reflective and scratch-resistant treatments.

Different optical materials used across the collection offer specific advantages to various styles. CR-39, a lightweight plastic material, is more impact-resistant than glass, and there is a virtually unlimited range of colors it can be tinted in, which allows Matsuda to create all the distinctive lens shades and gradients. Mineral glass, used on selected designs, is prized for its optical clarity and exceptional scratch resistance.

Certain Matsuda frames also come with polarized lenses, which are made specifically to reduce glare that hits the eyes when sunlight is reflected from surfaces such as water, snow, or glass. Because polarization filters horizontally reflected light, it can improve contrast and offer more comfortable vision under bright conditions. Lens specifications alter from model to model, giving the brand an opportunity to diversify its lineup with different combinations of optical performance and visual appeal.

The finest details of handcrafted eyewear shine at their brightest when you can appreciate them in person. Discover bold and distinctive Matsuda frames in our EuroOptica stores in New York! Visit our Upper West Side boutique at 280 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023, on the corner of West 73rd Street, or our Upper East Side boutique at 1249 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10021, on the corner of East 72nd Street, for your next perfect fit. Our friendly, experienced team will introduce you to the full Matsuda collection and help you choose a pair that best matches your individual style.

Beyond designer eyewear, EuroOptica offers comprehensive eye exams, eyewear prescriptions, frame repairs, and adjustments. Whether you're looking for an optical frame worked by the hands of true master engravers and polishers or an iconic pair of Matsuda sunglasses, visit us in New York City to see the details of Japanese craftsmanship up close!