Eyewear brand Kimeze launches on Net-A-Porter

British inclusive eyewear brand Kimeze, which designs sunglasses and opticals for black and brown faces, has launched on luxury e-tailer Net-A-Porter.

Kimeze was founded in 2021 by sisters Clare and Christina Kimeze after they realised that more than a billion people were not being catered for when designing the fit of sunglasses and opticals, as most eyewear is designed for Caucasian features and east Asian wearers. To address this, they designed eyewear that fit noses with lower and wider bridges for black consumers.

Kimeze co-founder Christina Kimeze, said in a statement: “All our glasses are designed to be fashion forward, chic and universally flattering. When it comes to making them fit, we have made changes to the nose bridge, temple length and angle of the glasses. This dramatically expands the range of people for whom the glasses will fit and look good on.

“These changes make a big difference. It is the difference between wearing glasses that are designed for someone else and glasses that are designed for you. It is the difference between being looked at and being seen.”

The brand has launched a nine-piece unisex capsule collection on Net-a-Porter, featuring sunglasses crafted in Italy that are inspired by both London and Africa. Key styles include the brand's signature 'Gabriel' cat-eye and oval-frame styles, the ‘Akin’ square-frame gold-tone sunglasses fitted with blush lenses and the crystal-embellished ‘Damba’ cat-eye sunglasses.

Commenting on launching on Net-a-Porter, Kimeze co-founder Clare Kimeze, added: “We are so thrilled to join the Net-a-Porter family of incredible fashion and luxury brands. Being able to showcase our ground-breaking and innovative collection to such a large global audience with a retail partner at the forefront of innovation, is an exciting and natural next step for us.”

The Kimeze collection for Net-a-Porter retails from 200 to 285 pounds / 240 to 342 US dollars.