Some eyewear styling projects are about contemporary fashion and self-expression. Others are rooted in history, storytelling and restraint. My work on The History of Sound, starring Paul Mescal, firmly sat in the latter category.

Set around the time of the First World War, the film follows two young men whose connection is shaped by music, memory and separation. It’s a quiet, intimate story, and every visual detail needed to feel authentic to the period.

That included the eyewear.

Nothing could feel styled for the sake of it, so the glasses needed to belong naturally within the world of the film.

When the costume and props department reached out to me from New York, the brief was clear: the eyewear had to be historically accurate, technically sound for filming, and visually unobtrusive on screen. It needed to support the character without ever distracting from the story being told.

Unlike modern productions, where glasses can become part of a character’s visual identity, period films demand a much lighter touch. Anything that feels too polished, too modern or too deliberate risks pulling the viewer out of the moment.

For The History of Sound, the eyewear needed to reflect styles worn in the early 20th century. That meant avoiding modern frame constructions, contemporary finishes or proportions that wouldn’t have existed at the time.

At the same time, the glasses still needed to perform under modern filming conditions, including controlled lighting and close-up shots.

Balancing historical accuracy with the technical demands of film was at the heart of this project.

This was a fully collaborative project carried out at a distance. Paul was based in the US, and the production team were working across multiple locations, so the entire process needed to be handled remotely.

I worked closely with the costume and props department, reviewing period references, discussing character context and narrowing down eyewear styles that would feel appropriate for the era.

The focus was always on subtlety. The glasses needed to feel like a natural part of the character’s life, not a visual statement.

Through that process, we settled on a rimless frame design.

Rimless glasses were commonly worn during this period and offered exactly what the film required: a light, understated presence that allowed the audience to remain focused on the performance rather than the eyewear.

The lens shape was just as important as the frame construction. For this era, we focused on a soft oval lens, which aligns closely with early 20th-century eyewear styles. Anything too angular or bold would have felt out of place.

Rimless frames can be deceptively complex. While they appear minimal, the proportions, spacing and mounting all need careful consideration. Even small deviations can push a pair of glasses into looking modern rather than period-correct, particularly on camera.

The aim was to provide eyewear that felt completely natural within the film’s visual language. Glasses you don’t consciously notice, because they feel exactly where they should be.

As with all on-screen eyewear, the lenses themselves were just as important as the frames. Even in a period setting, modern filming introduces challenges that historical eyewear was never designed to handle.

Reflections, distortions and inconsistencies can all become visible under close-up shots and controlled lighting.

My experience working with eyewear for film and television meant these technical considerations were built into the process from the outset.

For Paul’s glasses, the lenses needed to eliminate reflections, maintain optical clarity from every angle, and avoid altering the appearance of the eyes on screen.

My background as a qualified optician allowed me to ensure the lenses performed technically without compromising the period look. The goal was to support the film visually while keeping the eyewear discreet and unobtrusive.

Eyewear styling at this level goes far beyond selecting a frame that looks right. It’s about how that frame behaves once lenses are introduced, and how the final pair performs in real filming conditions.

Small details such as balance across the face, how the glasses sit on the bridge of the nose, and the way light interacts with the lens surface can all affect how eyewear appears on screen. When you’re working on a film where intimacy and subtle expression matter, those details become even more important.

The result needed to feel effortless and unremarkable, which, in practice, requires a great deal of precision.

Being approached to support a film production from New York was a memorable moment in itself. The History of Sound is a thoughtful, emotionally resonant film, and contributing to that storytelling through eyewear was a rewarding challenge.

The film explores themes of memory, heritage and the voices we carry forward. Supporting that narrative in a way that felt invisible yet essential was exactly the kind of work I enjoy most.

Eyewear for period pieces in film and television is often overlooked, but it requires a unique blend of historical knowledge, optical expertise and technical understanding.

Costume departments and stylists can identify suitable frames, but creating a final pair that performs visually, optically and emotionally on screen requires specialist skills.

Whether it’s a long-running television character or a quiet period film, the goal is always the same: eyewear that supports the story without ever interrupting it.