Fork Eyewear was created around the idea that style doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. The brand was built for a generation that doesn’t separate what happens online, on the street, at dinner or at 2 a.m. Style moves across all of it, and Fork was created for that same rhythm: sunglasses that work during the day but feel completely at home after dark.
The starting point was nightlife. Not in a literal “club collection” way, but in the energy around it. Dark rooms, flashes of neon, music, people, movement and the feeling that everyone has put together their look in a slightly different way. The brand identity grew from there, from the photography and typography to the colors, packaging and frame details.
For Hila Shtram, general manager of Fork Eyewear and chief digital officer at Optimax Eyewear, the group behind GlassesUSA and Ottica, the idea stemmed from an opportunity to create something less like traditional eyewear and more aligned with fashion culture. After years working behind the scenes in the eyewear industry, she saw a window for something different. That became Fork Eyewear.
Fork’s design language is bold without being overloaded: metal and acetate frames, tinted lenses, sharper shapes and unexpected proportions all play a role. There are also details that are easy to miss at first. Even the name “Fork” is worked into elements of the product design rather than simply printed everywhere. It gives the product another layer for those who pay attention. That approach is what separates Fork from the other brands within Optimax.
GlassesUSA is built around making eyewear accessible to a very broad audience, with scale, technology and choice at the center of the experience. Ottica, on the other hand, sits in the premium and designer space. Fork was given a different job. It was built as a fashion brand with a much more defined personality, audience and visual point of view.
At the same time, being part of Optimax remains instrumental to the brand. Yes, Fork is a young brand, but it didn’t start from zero. It was able to build on years of eyewear knowledge, e-commerce experience and consumer understanding, while still having the freedom to create its own identity. That combination made it possible to move quickly without making Fork feel like an extension of an existing brand. The brand’s mindset is summed up in two words: “dig in.” Rather than a slogan, those two words represent the way Fork sees its customer. They go out, stay for another drink, change plans and wear the thing that might be slightly too much without overthinking it.
That same customer is not defined solely by age. Fork naturally speaks to a younger, fashion-aware audience, but the more interesting common thread is attitude. The customer is curious, social, visually aware and comfortable mixing references. They might wear vintage with something new, choose a colored lens instead of a classic black one or wear sunglasses long after the practical reason for wearing them has disappeared. The product has to hold up to that personality.
Some of Fork’s strongest-selling styles so far include 04AM, Hex and Breaklight. Each frame is very different, which is an aspect of the brand Shtram finds interesting. There is no single “Fork look.” What connects the collection is the tension between something wearable and something just a little unexpected. A familiar silhouette might be pushed through proportion, lens color, finish or a small construction detail.
For Shtram, one of the biggest milestones has been seeing customers begin to recognize individual styles and build a relationship with the brand. That’s an important moment for a young fashion label. It means the product is developing an identity beyond the campaign around it. The ambition now is to keep building that recognition without making the brand broader just for the sake of growth.
Fork has the infrastructure of Optimax behind it, but the goal is to grow without losing what makes the brand distinct. New shapes, new categories and new ways to experience Fork can all be part of that growth, as long as they still feel unmistakably like Fork.
The goal isn’t to make sunglasses for everyone. It’s to make sunglasses that the right person spots across the room and immediately wants to know more about. And if that person ends up wearing them until 4 a.m., even better.
