MOSCOT is one of those major NY institutions which you can always rely on for unquestionably chic and undoubtedly masculine eyewear.

Founded by family patriarch Hyman Moscot, who arrived from Eastern Europe in 1899, he initially began the business by selling ready-made eyeglasses from a pushcart on Orchard Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and then finally opening a shop on Rivington Street in 1915. In 1951, Hyman’s son Sol moved the shop to its current location on Orchard Street and 60 years later we can recognise MOSCOT as it is today, a global fashion brand beloved by fans worldwide, which still has the warmth and customer care of a bygone neighbourhood optical shop.

The brand’s refined, downtown aesthetic with nearly 100 years of eyewear expertise and unparalleled craftsmanship has lended itself to the popular ranges of timeless eyewear designed in their NY studios.

For 2014 the family business has expanded out into the retail cooldom that is Dover Street Market – with dedicated spaces in DSMNY as well as their London and Ginza stores. You’ll also be able to find their especially created ‘Lemtosh’ frame which is exclusive to Dover Street Market stores this year.

Co-president and fourth generation business owner, Harvey Moscot tells us of his love for Peter Fonda’s aviators in Easy Rider and how he came to create a MOSCOT shop-within-a-shop inside Rei Kawakubo’s retail temple.

Thomas Davis: How does MOSCOT today differ from the neighbourhood eyewear store started in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the 20′s?
Harvey Moscot: We feel very fortunate that MOSCOT has evolved into a globally recognised fashion brand, selling our frames worldwide, but we are still a neighbourhood optical shop with humble beginnings. My grandfather Hyman Moscot immigrated to New York in the late 1800s and began selling eyeglasses from a pushcart in the Lower East Side, and we remain a fifth generation family business today. We are still headquartered in the Lower East Side, on the same street we have been on for 80 years, with strong ties to our neighborhood and community. And we’re about to celebrate 100 years in business, so in some ways, the more things have changed, the more they’ve remained the same! I am so proud and amazed at the legacy we have been able to create.

TD: How did the relationship between DSM and MOSCOT begin? Why did you chose to house your collections within a store like DSM?
HM: We were so fortunate to have DSM approach us about being a part of their new Dover Street Market New York. The opportunity to create a MOSCOT shop-in-shop inside Dover Street Market was incredibly exciting — DSM is a store that we, and the fashion world at large, so admire and adore. And having the opportunity to essentially build a “mini MOSCOT” has made it particularly special, since it really gives fans of both brands a real MOSCOT experience.

TD: DSM provides additional interest to the brands it represents within its stores, especially through their points of sale and visual merchandising. Talk us through the main features of the design of the Moscot concession at DSMNY for instance…
HM: It was really important to us that the MOSCOT shop-in-shop at Dover Street Market New York be a true reflection of our shops, and the MOSCOT brand. We went to great lengths to design a concession that was authentic, special, and fun, and really captured the tiniest of details that makes a MOSCOT shop MOSCOT. For example, we sourced the same tin ceiling tiles, used the same color scheme, our same vintage optical display trays, the same POP, and of course our signature MOSCOT Mannequin Heads. We also added hand painted signs, and vintage tchotchke’s from our Shops.

TD: What is special about the limited edition LEMTOSH style you’ve produced exclusively for DSM?
HM: The special edition LEMTOSH for Dover Street Market is one of my favorites. It is an exclusive blended shade of Tobacco Tortoise, which is an authentic old school acetate color, and the lenses are MOSCOT’s real glass Calibar green sun lenses.

TD: How would you describe the running aesthetic of MOSCOT glasses? What’s the style trademark?
HM: Most of our frames are based on styles from the Moscot family archives from the 1930s – 1970s, the styles celebrate the classic good looks and timeless design born in decades past. Our eyewear retains the authenticity of the original frame styles including period details, traditional hardware, and real sunglass lenses that precisely duplicate the true old school colors first fabricated by the company in the 1940s.

TD: Where is MOSCOT eyewear made? You have workshops in NY?
HM: Our eyewear is designed in-house by our in-house design team, produced in our factories in Asia. Next, every single MOSCOT frame is sent back to our labs here in our shop in New York City, where each frame is carefully inspected (quality controlled) before being shipped to fans and stockists around the world.

TD: MOSCOT is almost 100 years old. How does it still retain its reputation as such a relevant and desirable brand?
HM: MOSCOT infuses its unmistakable refined, downtown aesthetic with nearly 100 years of eyewear expertise, and unparalleled craftsmanship to create timeless eyewear. Being dedicated to quality and customer service is what keeps our customers coming back year after year.

TD: You must have some great archive material to work from. Are there any styles in the back catalogue you’d like to give new life to?
HM: I would love to do more with acetate and metal combinations.

TD: What makes a great men’s accessory for you?
HM: A great men’s accessory is something that can be paired with anything.

TD: What are some of your favourite signature eye wear styles/moments in history?
HM: I love Peter Fonda’s aviators in the film Easy Rider, Woody Allen’s aesthetic, and of course Buddy Holly’s representation of eyewear as cool extension of his personality.

MOSCOT eyewear is available now at all DSM Stores including New York, London and Ginza.