Glasses let you see the world. Well-designed glasses let the world see you. Just like the models from Moscot. The family business from New York City can look back on a 110-year history. And celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Uma Thurman and Robert Downey Jr. have looked through its glasses. In this interview, we talk to head designer Zack Moscot about tradition, innovation and what really matters when choosing eyewear.
God is an optician’s advertisement. At least for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. In the novel, a mysterious optometrist named T. J. Eckleburg advertises his services with a huge billboard from which two faceless eyes stare through a pair of spectacles. They symbolize a higher power that silently witnesses the goings-on of the poor devils and fallen angels below, slowly driving some of them mad. It is likely that the author Fitzgerald was inspired to create this image when he passed 94 Rivington Street in his home town of New York one day between 1919 and 1924 and his gaze was caught by the striking façade of the building. Two never-blinking eyes flanked a large advertising banner with the name of the store it housed: Moscot. “Examine eyes, adjust glasses, at the lowest prices” promised the owner of the same name, Hyman Moscot, in the shop window. The businessman had immigrated to the USA from Eastern Europe in 1899 and initially sold his glasses from a wheelbarrow on the street until he opened a store on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1915. Moscot soon provided clear vision in the neighborhood. Then, over the years, also in New York’s most fashionable circles. And today? All over the world. The anecdote about “The Great Gatsby” is just a drop deep down in the sea of pop-cultural relevance in which Moscot swims today. Over the years, as New York City attracted more and more creative minds with bad eyesight, the company became the first port of call for stylish remedies. Back then it was Truman Capote and Andy Warhol who stepped over the store threshold, today it’s Demi Moore and Scarlett Johansson. They can all expect an interior that has hardly changed in the past 110 years. And eyewear designs that don’t keep an eye on fast-moving trends, but instead focus on classic elegance. Zack Moscot is now responsible for this. As head designer and son of CEO Harvey Moscot, he represents the fifth generation of the family.
FACES: When did you first realize as a child that you were born into a family business that you could one day be a part of?
Zack Moscot: Good question. When you work in a multi-generational family business, that’s all anyone talks about. I always felt like I wanted to be a part of it when I was growing up. When I was young, I just didn’t really understand how I was supposed to belong. I didn’t love eyeballs (laughs). I didn’t want to be an optician like my dad. I wasn’t particularly into the medical side of ophthalmology either. But I loved design. I loved objects, I loved creating. My mom was an artist and designer, so she inspired me to say, “Hey, why don’t you get into the business at some point and use your creative skills instead of focusing on the eye care aspect?” So that’s when I had my aha moment to study, design and get into the business. To offer a fresh perspective and take the lead on creative and anything product-oriented. A funny story comes to mind: When I was about four or five years old, my grandmother took me to visit my father and grandfather when they finished their work at the store. I was still very little and shouted, “Let me out of the car! I’m an owner!” And I ran into the store, and my grandmother ran after me. I think at that moment my family knew, and I probably knew too, that I would eventually get into the business.
F: Does it make work more difficult when it’s so closely tied to family?
ZM: It’s more difficult. More difficult in the sense that it’s everything you live and breathe. When I see my father at work or outside of work, everything becomes a kind of family and work. There are negative aspects to that. Some people like to separate these things. But I also think it’s positive for us. Because we love it so much and are so passionate about it. As a result, we spend every second of our lives talking about it and focusing on it. But of course, we’re only human, aren’t we? Me and my dad definitely have our moments. But because we are so close and so passionate about what we do, we always overcome these challenges.
“Having children has taught me that you have time.”
F: Do you ever have to determine, “Okay, we’re having family dinner now. We’re not going to talk about work for the next two hours”?
ZM: (laughs) We know when there are moments when we shouldn’t talk about it. But it’s hard for us to do that. I think the rest of the family has come to terms with it.
F: What is the best advice your father has given you?
ZM: Focus on communication. He’s obviously from a different generation to me. He often tells me, “Get off your phone and stop being such a millennial.” He’s taught me that there are certain things that can’t be done on a computer and that human interaction is important. Dealing with people, communicating with customers, so much of what we do revolves around people. My father taught me how important it is to communicate face to face and with one voice. In our everyday lives, we are so often caught up in a chat or an email, and it’s just not the same.
F: You also have children now.
ZM: Yes, I have three. My girls are twins and are five years old. And my son is three.
F: What advice would you like to give them one day? Do you hope that one day they will continue working at Moscot?
ZM: I would be delighted if the next generation were part of the company. But I won’t put any pressure on them. My father never put pressure on me, which was very fortunate. I know his father put pressure on him, but he didn’t put pressure on me. Having children has taught me that you have time. That helps things to develop naturally. That also applies to the brand we have created. You can’t force certain things. Sometimes something arises organically that is so much stronger than the one you want to force. That’s why my advice is: patience is important. It makes for more sustainable growth.
F: What inspires your work? Are there certain movies, music, artists?
ZM: I like reading about psychology. How people think about products, how packaging, marketing and brand perception influence purchasing decisions. As for the music: John Mayer visited us in the store just last week. My father gave him an eye exam. They talked about music, art and culture. And it just so happens that John is someone we both love. Which is amazing because my dad and I are from different generations, but we both have the same passion and appreciation for his music. John has played a little bit on my dad’s guitars and it’s just cool how music or art or artists can bridge the generations.
“We like to say: the people carry the frames, not the frames the people.”
F: For the new advertising campaign, Moscot has combined traditional photography with artificial intelligence to show the evolution of the brand over the decades. Do you see further potential for AI in the industry and in your work? Are there areas where it should be left out completely?
ZM: It’s a delicate balance. When we used A.I., we didn’t want to be futuristic, we wanted to use the ability to look into the past. Because Moscot has this history, and there were moments that we didn’t have in our archive book that we wanted to see. It’s important to mention that we used an artist to get it right. We didn’t try to replace the artistry with a tool. We used it to enhance the artistry. So no artist or photographer was removed in the process. I think that’s really important. Because often people think that a company is using AI to replace the artistry. That’s not our intention. It was a fun test and a good example of how we want to use technology to grow – but always with the past in mind. Every time we take a step forward, we must always preserve our past. The same is true for me in design. When I design a new frame, I may be developing something that already exists. Or I may have the intention of designing something new – always with the thought of how it was in the past. It’s a delicate balance of moving forward but always looking backwards.
F: One technology that has not yet managed to gain a foothold with a wider audience is smart glasses such as those from Google or Meta. Why? And is Moscot considering expanding into this area?
ZM: We are open to trying things out. But it’s not something we’re considering at the moment. I don’t see wearable technology as glasses any differently than wearable technology on the wrist. Some people want a Rolex and some people want an Apple Watch. There are different needs and requirements based on each person’s lifestyle and what they want to achieve from a fashion and functional perspective. Some people value wearable technology for whatever reason. And that’s a great thing. Others value timeless fashion. Eyewear is very similar from a fashion perspective. Some people want different things. It depends on the day, on the outfit, on what you want to achieve. I think that’s a good analogy – but there’s also a medical component to glasses. So it can be very complex to combine vision with forms of technology. But as a traditional fashion brand, we are more on the Rolex side than the Apple Watch side. But there will always be demand for both. I don’t see it as either one or the other fails and one or the other works. Different people want the fashion, different people want the technology.
F: What advice would you give to people who are deciding on an eyewear design? Are there small details that make a big difference when choosing?
ZM: As New Yorkers, we don’t tell people what style to wear. We leave it up to them to determine their style based on their personality. And there are a lot of interesting personalities in New York City (laughs). That’s what makes people here so great: that they wear what they want to wear. We like to say: the people wear the frames, not the frames wear the people. That speaks to people’s individuality. As opticians, however, we advise them on the fit. Because here, too, it’s about the component of vision. You have to choose the right lenses for your lifestyle, based on your prescription, and often those needs dictate the type of frame you can wear. There are a lot of different variables. But when it comes to fit and optical expertise, we focus on face shape, face size and some things like skin color, eye color or hair color that we use as little clues.
“All I can focus on is making great glasses.”
F: Jack Nicholson is said to have once said: “If I wear my sunglasses, I’m Jack Nicholson. If I don’t wear them, I’m fat and 60 years old.” Do you agree that glasses can have such a strong influence on how others perceive our personality?
ZM: (laughs) Yes, absolutely. It’s 100% true and luckily I’m in a business where the accessory is on the face. The glasses are the first thing any of us notice. Not the belt or the watch. As humans, we make eye contact first, so glasses are the most important accessory you can have. My father says that they are the first thing you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off in the evening because you need to see clearly for medical reasons. This makes glasses an essential part of a person’s personality and style. There are famous icons, including customers of ours, who have become famous for their looks because their glasses have become synonymous with their person. I think Jack is right with that statement – not that he’s fat (laughs). But: glasses are an important part of how we are perceived.
F: You help people to see better. What would you like to see more of in the world?
ZM: We are lucky that our frames are worn all over the world in different countries by people with different beliefs. I would like to see more unity and less division. My father says: “We can’t control politics, but maybe we can save the world – one by one.” For us, it’s about bringing people together. All I can focus on is making great glasses.
Moscot
Hyman Moscot had his eyes on the prize when he started selling glasses from a wheelbarrow in Manhattan. Today, Moscot glasses are the prize on the eyes and are currently sold in 32 stores worldwide, including in Munich, Vienna and Zurich. The customer list reads like a mile from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but success does not lie in the street: the timeless designs of models such as the Lemtosh or the Miltzen are regularly reinterpreted. Chief designer Zack Moscot, the fifth generation in the family business, is responsible for this.
moscot.com
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Photos: © Moscot, Picture Alliance
