Specsavers welcomes Barbour into its growing brand portfolio with a collection of optical glasses from the iconic British heritage lifestyle brand.

With a fresh twist on classic shapes, the collection is inspired by Barbour’s modern countryside style and features colours and patterns inspired by the great British outdoors.

The Barbour story began in 1894 in the coastal town of South Shields in the North East of England when founder John Barbour began selling oilskins to the mariners and fishermen to protect them from the worst of the British weather.  Today, Barbour is a 5th generation family-owned global lifestyle business providing outerwear, clothing, accessories and footwear for men, women and children and remains true to its founding values of quality, durability, attention to detail and fitness for purpose.

The new Barbour eyewear collection is inspired by the iconography of Barbour’s renowned wax jackets through the understated use of tartan and houndstooth prints and a variety of timeless eyewear shapes, including the square and round metals.

Specsavers Head of Frames, Nelly Soleil is excited for Kiwis to experience the quality and style of Barbour at Specsavers.

‘The new Barbour range delivers premium, on trend, durable and beautifully crafted frames that you’d expect from two brands with over 126 years of combined style heritage between them.

‘The collection of frames, much like Barbour’s own brand ethos, is fit for purpose, timeless and transcends fashion providing the wearer with a unique pair of frames to take them seamlessly from the rush of the city to the calm of the country.

David Godfrey, Regional Manager Distributor Markets, EMEA & Licensing, Barbour: “We are delighted to partner with Specsavers on this eyewear collection which perfectly captures the heritage of Barbour.  It incorporates our classic British style in textures and patterns synonymous with Barbour, reimagined for everyday wear from the city to the country.”

The Specsavers Barbour collection is available in-store and online from 8 February 2023 with prices from $459 for two pairs single vision.

Originally established by John Barbour in 1894 in South Shields in the North East of England to provide outerwear to fishermen, sailors and mariners to protect them from the worst of the British weather, today Barbour offers a complete wardrobe of clothes, accessories and footwear for men, women and children. Shirts, knitwear, trousers, footwear and accessories are now just as much in demand as Barbour’s iconic outerwear.

Forever synonymous with the British countryside, Barbour’s collections now span from the best practical country clothing to fashion-forward lifestyle collections. To this day Barbour’s ranges continue to be inspired by the company’s archives which date back to 1910 – each season classic designs are re-interpreted into modern, contemporary silhouettes.  In 1998, in conjunction with Kinloch Anderson, renowned tartan specialists based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Barbour developed the first of their own exclusive tartans, the Classic Tartan based on the sett of the Ayrshire District Tartan from where the Barbour family had originated.  Followed in 2002 by the Dress Tartan, Barbour’s tartans are a signature of the brand.

A family-owned 5th generation brand established 129 years ago, Barbour is a global success story sold in over 55 countries worldwide including Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the US and Japan.  In 2020, Barbour launched Wax for Life, an overarching name for all of Barbour’s wax services designed to encourage customers to extend the life of their jackets.  Wax for Life includes re-waxing and  repairs first introduced in 1921 and Re-Loved, an upcycling circularity initiative.

In 2023, Barbour celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the Beaufort wax jacket, an Evergreen icon, designed by Dame Margaret Barbour in 1983 and one of the classic jackets that has made Barbour a household name.