All my lovely ladies who have the most beautiful eyes but have to wear glasses because their eyes don’t do the one job they were supposed to – SEE THINGS, I feel you. For people like us, our lives are incomplete without glasses. Life partners also come second to them, if I am being honest. And there was a whole era when cat-eye glasses were much in vogue. Every woman I saw with glasses had this fancy frame perched up on her nose. August 4 marks the 116th birthday of Altina Schinasi, the designer of the iconic cat-eye frame, and Google Doodle is celebrating her life. Here are more lesser-known facts about this American designer.
Who is Altina Schinasi?
Altina Schinasi is an American designer who is credited for introducing the world-famous cat-eye glass frame that is also known as the Harlequin frame. Born to a Greek mother and a Jewish father in Manhattan, Altina moved to Paris to pursue her career as a painter. She came back to the US and continued to study at The Art Students League in New York. Altina Schinasi began working as a window dresser and gained experience from popular artists like Salvador Dali whom she had immense respect for.
Invention of cat-eye frames
While she was working as a window dresser, she realised that glasses for women came only in round shapes and basic designs. This led Altina to want to create a funky frame design for women’s glasses. She took inspiration from the Harlequin masks, the masquerade masks that she saw people on the streets of Italy wear.
A local shop owner saw the potential in Altina Schinasi’s idea and asked her to make exclusive cat-eye frames for him for six months. The frames were an instant hit among the ladies who were delighted to wear fancy glasses.
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Film career
After the massive success of the cat-eye glasses, Altina Schinasi turned to films and began producing documentaries. She also wrote her memoir titled The Road I Have Traveled. Her invention did not just stop at cat-eye glasses. She also went on to create portrait chairs and benches which she named Chairacters.
Altina Schinasi was one visionary of a woman, and we wish her a very happy birthday!