Second Sight

Paris eyewear brand Maison Bonnet launches a London atelier with double vision and plenty of conversation pieces

- Marta RePresa

Espresso cups tinkle on a marble table as Franck Bonnet and Pierre Bonnefille talk animatedly on the first floor of bespoke eyewear brand Maison Bonnet’s Paris atelier. Situated near Place des Victoires, the space – a welcoming, polished salon in velvety dark tones – opened in 2009 and was designed by Bonnefille, one of France’s leading interior architects. Now, the loquacious duo are working together again on a new atelier on London’s Stafford Street, set to open in late June. ‘Around 60 per cent of my clients are foreigners, and they come to Paris once a year on holiday – but they find themselves in London almost monthly for work, so it made sense,’ explains Bonnet, the CEO and fourth-generation owner of the family business. ‘It also made sense to continue our collaboration with Pierre.’