The spectacle maker’s 21st shop occupies part of the former Affleck & Brown department store, combining optical services with an interior developed by Manchester studio YOUTH.
British spectacle maker Cubitts has opened its first Manchester shop at 16 Smithfield Buildings on Hilton Street in the Northern Quarter. The location is the company’s 21st shop worldwide and 19th in the UK.
The opening gives Cubitts its first presence in Manchester and follows the launch of The Yard, its new headquarters and optical manufactory in King’s Cross, London. The facility brings frame making, lens production, design, repair, consultation, exhibition and training together in one location.
Cubitts had been looking for a Manchester site for almost a decade, waiting until it found a building whose history and character aligned with its approach to making, fitting and repairing spectacles.
A Former Northern Department Store
The shop occupies part of the former Affleck & Brown department store. Established in the 1860s, the company grew from a drapery on Oldham Street to occupy the block bounded by Oldham Street, Church Street, Tib Street and Hilton Street. It became known as the “Harrods of the North”.
For more than a century, the building sold cloth by the yard and produced made-to-measure garments. Its new use continues that association with measurement, fitting, adjustment and repair, this time through optical services.
Designed in partnership with Manchester-based studio YOUTH, the shop has been conceived primarily as a working optician, with references to the city incorporated through its materials, objects and music.
The space includes a dedicated repairs desk, an optometric room, a bespoke consultation area and displays accommodating 72 optical frames and sunglasses. Repairs, eye examinations and bespoke consultations are visible within the shop rather than positioned entirely behind the retail space.
Industrial Materials and Bespoke Details
Industrial metalwork, textured glass, waxed cotton and warm timber form the principal material palette. Sanded and polished steel supports the frame displays and surrounds hand-dimpled mirrors designed to produce an imperfect reflection.
Textured-glass platforms create broken shadows beneath the spotlights, while waxed-cotton curtains divide and soften the different areas. A faceted oak counter at the centre of the shop contains the till, an integrated record player and speakers.
The objects selected for the interior reference tailoring, industry, modernism and manual work. An original painting by Francis Hoyland depicts a seamstress, while a Cubist gouache by Marcel Gille shows a forge worker. Two modernist sandstone figures by sculptor Richard Perry are also displayed.
A revolving bookcase made by Manchester cabinetmakers Goodall, Lamb and Heighway from timber salvaged from HMS Foudroyant has returned to the region. It now holds publications produced by Manchester-based publisher and bookshop The Modernist.
Music has been incorporated into the interior rather than applied as a separate theme. The programme avoids an expected selection of Manchester bands, instead moving between soul, electronics, post-punk, jazz and experimental music.
“We’ve been looking for the right home in Manchester for almost a decade. We wanted to be in the Northern Quarter, but only if we could find a building with the history and character to justify our arrival. Smithfield Buildings felt immediately right: a spectacle shop inside a former draper’s department store, in a neighbourhood shaped by making, music and independent trade. Manchester does not need another London brand telling it how interesting it is. We’re simply pleased to finally be here, and hope to make ourselves useful. It was important that Cubitts Manchester was designed in Manchester, and not just deposited here. YOUTH understood how to make the space feel distinctly Cubitts without resorting to the usual Manchester shorthand. The result is thoughtful, industrial and warm, with references to the city embedded in its materials, objects and music rather than announced from the walls.”
Tom Broughton Founder, Cubitts
Optical Services and Exclusive Frames
Alongside optical frames and sunglasses, the Manchester shop provides eye examinations, repairs, reglazing, made-to-measure frames and fully bespoke spectacle consultations. A collection of Manchester-exclusive frames is also in development, with details due to be announced separately.
Cubitts was founded in King’s Cross in 2013. Frames are handmade using materials including Italian acetate, Japanese titanium, German hinges and Indian water buffalo horn. Each style can be produced as an optical frame or sunglasses, and frames are designed to be repaired when necessary rather than replaced.
Terry Clark is the Publisher and Content Director of 365 Retail, with more than a decade of experience covering retail design, technology innovations, store openings and the wider retail industry. He also works closely with leading retailers, suppliers, agencies, events and industry awards across the UK.
