A. Society’s founders on the Hong Kong eyewear brand’s local soul and global reach

Across Asia, eyewear brands are having a moment. From South Korea’s Gentle Monster to Sunnies Studios from the Philippines, these companies are finding a global audience thanks to their trendy styles, hi-tech features and in-store experiences – and installations that have transformed retail destinations into tourist hotspots. Here in Hong Kong, A. Society has set out to do all that and then some since launching in 2018, putting a distinctly local twist on its campaigns and activations. The home-grown brand’s three co-founders – Julien “Nadet” Avignon, Kenny Kwok and Dee Lam – joined forces after noticing a gap in the market for quality eyewear at an accessible price point. An average pair retails for around HK$1,000; custom pieces are HK$1,150 and up. When Style caught up with the trio at the A. Society store at K11 Musea, to talk about the brand’s newly improved customisation service, we found them dressed in classic, unfussy streetwear – a style not unlike the brand’s signature frames. “When you look at the eyewear market, not many people propose that kind of service in store,” Nadet says of A. Society’s enhanced A. Custom offering. It’s a personalisation process in which customers select their own frames and lenses on a tablet before getting their name or a personal message engraved on the side. It can be done in an hour or less; previously, the brand’s personalisation process took up to a week. “It’s something different we wanted to do to [let] people feel involved in the process of creating their pair [of glasses] and be involved in the brand,” Nadet adds. “A. Society is [built] around people, so having the opportunity in store to create your thing, or even gift to someone, is quite important for us.” A. Society was born in response to the founders’ observation that many Western eyewear brands’ glasses weren’t well suited to Asian faces. A. Custom aims to offer frames for every face shape, with standard and wide sizes, and fits tailored to both lower and higher nose bridges. The label was also established as a creative community, its founders bringing unique experience in the retail, design and manufacturing sectors to the table. A. Society has become a popular platform for collaboration with some of Hong Kong’s most exciting creative talents, from street artist Lousy to Tate and Andrew Mok, who make up the multidisciplinary duo Offgod:Tate. The brand’s latest collaboration is an exclusive eyewear capsule created with cult lifestyle brand Maison Kitsuné. It features a limited edition chop: a carved seal traditionally used as a signature on everything from paperwork to artwork, and an indelible part of Hong Kong’s history. When it comes to A. Society’s partnerships, Nadet says they’re about more than just “putting the name of a brand on a pair of glasses”. Kwok cites the label’s collaboration with the M+ museum – crafted entirely in sterling silver and inspired by the works of pioneering Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei – as an example. “Innovation is always at the core,” Nadet says. “We wonder what we can bring [to] the market that is not overdone. Few brands are using [silver]. It [made sense for] an architectural collaboration with an art museum.” Other collaborations have got even more experimental with their materials and techniques. “Lousy was more about acetate,” elaborates Nadet. “We developed a technique that deformed the material to get that wavy surface that [recalls] the way Lousy draws. Offgod was about crazy design – so 3D printing, which is also not widely democratised, let’s say, in an eyewear shop. There’s always something challenging in terms of manufacturing [and] design that we all connect to.” Kwok adds that successful collaborations often inspire innovations, which eventually get absorbed into A. Society’s own brand identity. “The magnetic clip-on [sun lenses] idea was from [Hong Kong singer] Gareth [Tong]. He was saying, ‘I have to wear my glasses daily, but when I’m on stage, I want to look cool.’ It’s now one of our bestselling collections.” A. Society’s A. Custom campaign – capturing slices of everyday life in Hong Kong – reflects the brand’s efforts to build a global community with local soul. Personalities featured include comedian Jordan Leung and Alexis Dupont, interior architect and founder of lifestyle brand Maison Ming. “A. Custom is for everyone,” says Lam. “That’s why we found different kinds of people [for] the campaign – we want to show diversity [and] that different styles can come with different characters.” Through its product drops and community activations, A. Society aims to be a platform for cultural exchange and self-expression. Lam describes how opening the brand’s flagship store in K11 Musea in late 2025, followed by stores at the K11 Art Mall and Shanghai’s Taikoo Li, was key to showing A. Society’s full creative vision to customers from all backgrounds. “In the [typical] optical store, [multiple] brands share the same table,” he says. “The audience can’t see the big picture. So we wanted to open our own store. We don’t just sell products [or] eyewear: we sell the whole package – the whole experience.” A. Society is “different but inclusive”, as Nadet puts it – its reach extending from ComplexCon Hong Kong to showrooms at Paris Fashion Week, proof that the brand appeals to streetwear fans and high fashion devotees alike. The company’s rapid expansion speaks to a global appetite for eyewear that serves as a powerful statement of individuality and identity, without breaking the bank. “You can have the coolest product in the world,” Nadet concludes, “but if no one can wear [or afford] it – if no one can have it at home – what is it for?”

A. Society’s founders on the Hong Kong eyewear brand’s local soul and global reach

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As Asian eyewear labels command growing attention, A. Society has launched an enhanced version of its A. Custom in-store personalisation service

As Asian eyewear labels command growing attention, A. Society has launched an enhanced version of its A. Custom in-store personalisation service