Harlequins

Yes, it is Harlequins. The form we are used to calling the “Cat’s Eye” was invented in the 1930s in New York by the inventor and multidisciplinary artist Altina Schinasi. In the absence of a variety of shapes in optics at the time, she found inspiration in the shape of Harlequin masks and patented her frame design with the name “Harlequine”. In 1939, Schinasi received the Lord & Taylor Annual American Design Award for her avant-garde transformation of eyeglass frames into a fashion accessory. It was a real revolution in the industry, which gave us one of the main forms in frame design – the recognizable charismatic feminine Harlequin silhouette, which was used to create the enlarged Butterfly shape in the 60s.