Corey Shapiro : the Unique Trendsetter Behind Vintage Frames Breaking the Mold
When you look at Corey Shapiro’s style, the first word that comes to mind is “bold” and as it turns out, it’s not just his apparel that is outside of the box. He embodies passion, hard-work, focus and good taste, which isn’t too surprising considering he runs a wildly successful company of vintage collectible sunglasses called Vintage Frames.

The down-to-earth entrepreneur never did things like others expected him to. His gut feeling mixed with a sharp sense for business positioned him as a visionary and a trendsetter in the field. He says he designs around the feeling, no matter where he gets the inspiration from, and it radiates throughout his pieces. It’s easy to understand why he doesn’t follow the rulebook and prefers to create his own when he tells you about the time he designed a whole collection while being at a steakhouse in Tokyo.
I got to catch up a bit with Shapiro at the media opening of his brand new boutique in Montreal, where we talked about business, fashion, the grind and legacy, while a talented pianist performed inside the store, providing a beautiful soundtrack to the whole experience.
My intention for the new Vintage Frames Company flagship was to create an environment and experience fit for Sir Elton John – Corey Shapiro
I am familiar with the brand, but how do you describe what is Vintage Frames and what you do, to someone that is new to the concept?
I tried to create a brand that fits people’s personalities, not really their faces. That’s the goal. The goal is to make something where, when people put our sunglasses on, they feel bold and empowered and happy. Contrary to the majority of sunglasses brands, I myself, the founder that has the VF vision, I design everything the way that I want to. Completely against the norm. I want people to have fun with my glasses, because I don’t think eyewear is that much fun anymore, you know?
You’re definitely not doing it like others are; you have a very unique outlook on business. Do you think that impacted in a major way the amount of success you’ve had?
Oh yeah for sure, it’s the only reason we are successful. I’m not from the medical industry, I play in the medical world because glasses are obviously medical grade, and I think that if I would’ve done it in the way that people would’ve wanted me to do it, there would be no success in the company. When everyone was telling us that vintage glasses were just old glasses, we were creating a brand behind the frame. When everyone said that production takes a year, we figured out how to do it in 3 months. All these things that people had stigmas towards this industry, we just kinda bulldozed. And I think without that, there would’ve have been no possible success in any of this.
It’s obviously very different how you approach the style of your sunglasses, so you’re already setting yourself apart from the other companies.
Most optical stores are very cookie-cutter because it takes special displays to hold the eyewear, and many displays are very expensive. For visual merchandising, you can go get all types of stuff made in your own way when you’re in clothing, for example. It’s easier to build racks that hold hangers. In this field I’m in, you can’t, so it’s pretty cookie-cutter. Because these companies that supply fixtures have to make so many of them, they force people to be in their mold. So as soon as you step out of that, you’re already in a different league in general. This whole store was absurd to build but in a good way.
Were you always into eyewear? Were accessories there from the start?
It was always my thing but I think I was a bit more reckless as a teenager. So I never really fully wear my glasses all the time because I didn’t want to ruin them. I always collected them, so my collection is super vast. I modeled the business after it because the archive is so big. There’s no archive like this in the entire world.
I think it’s normal, you feel more free with your style when you’re young because you don’t care what people think, but as you grow older you start to become more aware of others’ opinions. But you, you stayed true to your unique style, which is even harder to do these days in our society. Everyone looks the same and wants to look the same. What would you say to people that are trying to find their own style nowadays?
Social media is forcing people to digest things very quickly. It’s kinda weird, because when I was younger, I would save up money to buy that Diesel sweater, and I’d feel awesome wearing it over and over. But now, people buy things, they put it on social media, and they feel like it’s old. Social media churns and burns the fashion cycle. That’s why we are so dead-set on an archive timeless mentality, because in a culture of churn and burn, it’s the only way we can survive.
A lot of people want to be entrepreneurs and even if they know it’s not easy, they don’t REALLY know how hard it can get. Because you’ve seen the evolution throughout the years you’ve had the business, do you have any advice for someone that wants to be an entrepreneur in the current space?
People have to realize that it’s not as fun as they think it’ll be. Everyone thinks that being your own boss is great – it’s not. The sacrifices are enormous. It’s a major ordeal and people are not prepared for that. The allure of working for yourself… many people find out it’s not as glamourous as they’d thought it’d be.
It’s about instant gratification right now so many people think that being successful will take a only a few years. And you’re in a great position to explain that all that glitz and glam, the constant traveling and the famous clients, it didn’t happen quickly.
Absolutely, and because of internet culture, everyone wants to be “it”, right here right now, for their 15 minutes of fame. It’s very unfortunate. People need to realize that they can do anything they wish to if they truly put the work in and really think about what it will take to achieve it.

Sir Elton John is my style icon and was the reason why I fell in love with eyewear. His eccentric style reinvigorated the optical industry and made eyewear fun again. – Corey Shapiro
The inspiration for the new store in St-Henri came from reimagining the space in which Elton John played his residency in Las Vegas, the colosseum at Caesars Palace. Mixing Greek and Roman design cues such as columns and marble with modern touchpoints of LED lighting and AR visuals, makes the boutique a complete experience. It’s more than just a trip to an optical store.
The store even boasts a sleek white grand piano in the middle of the store with the hopes of Sir Elton John blessing the keys one day in the heart of St-Henri. Every detail of the store was meticulously chosen and built from inspiration throughout Shapiro’s travels around the world over the past two decades while he procured his vast collection of more than a million unique frames in his archive.

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