Gregory Peck 1962

First launched nearly a decade ago, Oliver Peoples’ Gregory Peck frame has become a true icon for the brand. Now it’s being reintroduced and highlighted in Oliver Peoples’ latest campaign featuring Ross Butler. The overwhelming success of the optical frame led Oliver Peoples to add a sun frame just a short time later, and in the years since, the Gregory Peck line has become a staple of the brand.
Modeled directly after the iconic frames worn by Gregory Peck in the landmark 1962 film To Kill A Mockingbird, Oliver Peoples’ delivered a pair of glasses that are equally institutional as they are contemporary. And now with the Gregory Peck 1962, they are pushing the boundaries of their offering with their first foldable frame.

Although you wouldn’t be able to tell at first glance, the Peck 1962 is a foldable frame with a number of the discrete flourishes Oliver Peoples is known for. Viewed from the front, the folding mechanism isn’t visible for the opaque acetate version, it’s only when you look at the frames from behind that you’ll see the metal hinge hidden inside the bridge so that the original design isn’t compromised. For the translucent acetates versions instead, where the hinge is visible due to the transparency, the functional piece is designed to be a decorative element. There are hinges at the middle of the temples integrated with metal filigree caps so that when folded, the cut of the acetate is not exposed, but only the beautiful metal detailing is seen. Whether folded and on display, or unfolded and worn, this frame is eye-catching in all the right ways.

Incorporating the essential themes which Oliver Peoples is known for, the Peck 1962 is a minimal, functional, and beautiful design. It is a contemporary take on the 1960s style, which itself was a take on a style from the 1930s, the era in which To Kill A Mockingbird is set. This foldable frame echoes notable “Jet Age” car designs and the mid-century modern homes with which they pair so well, such as the Steinman House designed by Craig Ellwood, and featured in the Peck 1962 campaign video. The finest cars and homes of that era are still relevant as ever because they were not only beautiful objects, but functional as well.
Although the rampant use of chrome on cars during the era and concrete and steel in the homes can make them seem cold and mechanical at first glance, the end user experience is intrinsically warm and natural. Efficient use of space brings with it a great sense of comfort, anticipating a person's needs, and allowing them to enjoy their surroundings unencumbered and without having to make additional considerations. It is the very embodiment of the idea of “flow”. Oliver Peoples carries that concept over to Peck 1962, making the most of the clean design that carries very little visual weight, but makes a quiet and profound statement nonetheless.

And what is that statement? It’s about an affinity for attention to detail.
Appreciating one’s surroundings and considering the effect they have on people is as much a statement as the one made by a person’s chosen attire. Details in the home, like where light is allowed in by opening blinds a certain amount or retaining a landline phone in the kitchen because that’s where a good deal of time is spent in the morning, these are statements. They show an extra degree of thought given to the interaction between a person, an object, and a space. This is a cornerstone of Oliver Peoples and it carries over into the people, places and things that serve as inspiration and wind up inhabiting the greater creative universe of the brand.
Everything in the world of this short film is intentional, just the way all of the leading men who he was inspired by would have had it. Although the narrative is orderly, it isn’t rigid, just as the Peck 1962 is institutional, but not stuffy. By taking this heritage style and putting a modern twist on it, Oliver Peoples is offering those who choose the Peck 1962 the chance to write their own chapter in a classic story.