Eyewear catered to high myopes

An eyewear brand designed for people with high myopia made its first appearance at 100% Optical in February.

Charlotte Dickinson, founder of Minus Eyewear, told OT: “I got fed up of not being able to choose a frame.”

Having a high prescription, and thicker lenses, meant she found her choice of eyewear limited and so she sought to create a range “optimised...and catered for those high myopes.”

Dickinson described the impact that requiring thicker lenses can have on self-image and confidence.

“From my own experience, I have dry eye so I’m more reliant on my glasses or I would wear contact lenses every day, and wearing something on your face that you feel self-conscious in can affect your confidence,” Dickinson said.

Minus Eyewear frames are designed to provide full coverage of the lens, while minimising the appearance of thick lenses.

“I call it the iceberg effect when the lens sticks out and you can see it from the side,” Dickinson shared. “We’ve aimed to cover that by cutting away any excess material. We’ve tried to cut away from the material instead of adding embellishments and extra weight.”

The lugs have also been widened so that the arms of the frame don’t bend. 

A stand-out frame from the brand is the ‘Richmond Power,’ a retro style reminiscent of metal wire frames, but made suitable for thicker lenses with an acetate frame hidden behind a wire front to keep the lens secure.

“Usually if you have thick lenses you are told to stay away from [metal frames] but they are really trendy and the frames that everyone wants,” Dickinson said.

The frame also uses Mazzucchelli’s M49 tortoiseshell acetate from the sustainable range.

For dispensing opticians, Dickinson suggested, the collection provides “more frames in the toolbox to suggest.”

This is particularly valuable for patients who have high myopia, she said: “Especially if you are already quite self-conscious about the frame and you’re restricted, it limits everything down into a smaller pool of frames that you’re not going to like.”

Minus Eyewear aims to solve this problem for practices, providing stylish frames for patients with thicker lenses, and ultimately “happy customers,” Dickinson said.