It’s been quite the decade for multi-hyphenate Dan Levy. Since leaving Canadian MTV he has co-created, co-written, co-directed, and starred in the award winning series Schitt’s Creek, added numerous other roles in film and television to his resume, and started, paused, and relaunched his namesake eyewear brand D.L. Eyewear. Levy, who has worn glasses since the age of eight, started to create his own frames in 2013. “I have a lifetime of experience with eyewear, with the joy of collecting eyewear, with trial and error, with understanding how the shape of a frame can bring out the best in someone’s face,” he said. “I was able to say ‘I’ll be a consumer when it comes to fashion, but I do think I can design when it comes to eyewear.’”
The frames—which sell for a tad more than Warby Parker, for example, but hundreds of dollars less than designer eyewear—are genderless and intended to bring some much needed fun into the practical glasses space. Levy, who by his own estimation has collected almost 100 pairs of frames, specifically wanted his frames to be accessible. “I think so many people view eyewear as a practical thing,” he said. “A lot of wearers don’t think about the concept of collecting, or that a different frame can offer something completely new depending on your mood or your desire to express yourself in a completely different way. It’s important for us to make frames that are as affordable as possible to allow people to collect and celebrate the fact that if you have to wear glasses why not be able to switch them up?”
D.L. Eyewear started as a one-man business. Levy found his Canadian manufacturer (that he still uses today) after searching the White Pages and internet, and he slowly began to build the company. Cut to the Schitt’s Creek years. Levy, who had paused the brand when the show started to take up more of his time, started to see an uptick of orders on his still-active website. “As Schitt’s Creek began to grow I noticed almost every day we would sell a pair,” he says. “As the popularity of the show continued to grow, so did the number of sales on this horrible website from many, many years prior. I took it as a sign that there was interest and that I should revisit it.” His inclination was right—when he first relaunched the eyewear last summer, styles sold out within an hour. On every consecutive restock, those styles are gone within two minutes.
Friday’s drop and restock will likely be just as popular. The six styles of opticals and sunglasses in various hues are gender-neutral and span from the more practical to fun. “I think that is where the idea for the company came: making frames that stand the test of time that feel contemporary even though they’re rooted in a more nostalgic idea,” Levy said. “Everything I make through D.L. goes through the question of ‘will someone be embarrassed to wear these in 10 years?’ And if the answer is yes, we don’t move forward!” Levy’s own first pair of glasses—a round, light blue and black gradient metal frame picked for him by his parents—are one he wishes he could forget (“[they] did nothing for me”). But they also spurred him forward: “When you don’t have access to something there’s always something deep down that makes you want to fix it.”
Levy’s encouragement to build a collection of affordable, stylish eyewear is really resonating, and the cherry on top is that portions of each sale are donated to LISC—an organization that gives grants and emergency assistance to small businesses. While Levy is no longer running the business by himself—he hired a small team post–Schitt’s Creek—he may still be the one answering your customer service email or posting on their social media account. “It will always be something that I’m incredibly involved with,” he said. “Because I think it’s so important when you put your name on something that you know exactly what you’re doing and that you have a crucial role in making sure that the product you’re selling is something that you yourself would not just wear but would feel proud to put out into the world.”
The eyewear will be available to purchase at 6pm EST on Friday, April 23. See below for a sneak peak at four pairs.
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