Disney Cruella coup for British designer

Multiple pairs were created for Emma Stone to help track her metamorphosis from Estella to Cruella

British eyewear designer Tom Davies has designed the glasses for the characters Cruella (played by Emma Stone) and the Baroness (played by Emma Thompson) in Disney’s forthcoming Cruella, an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinema’s most notorious villains, Cruella de Vil.

What began as a small project for Tom ended up with him making glasses for almost the entire cast of the film, which launches simultaneously in theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access for a one-time additional fee on 28 May.

Tom was initially called in to create frames for just the Baroness. But, while researching the period, he noticed almost everyone at that time (pre-contact lenses and laser surgery) was wearing glasses. Working closely with Jenny Beavan, the film’s multiple Academy Award-winning costume designer, Davies was asked to provide glasses for nearly every cast member – a total of 120 frames. Multiple pairs were created for Stone to help track her metamorphosis from Estella to Cruella.

An old-fashioned acetate press was created to hand-make the raw materials

Tom’s factory is based in London, just 30 minutes from Shepperton Studios where Cruella was filmed. Although bespoke frames usually take up to four weeks to make, the tight deadlines resulted in Davies hand-making frames personally and delivering them just hours after the fittings. To ensure the 1970s-style reproductions were perfect, Davies created an old-fashioned acetate press to hand-make the raw materials – a technique which proved so successful it is now a permanent part of his eyewear design process.

Tom said: “I absolutely loved the challenge of working on Cruella, especially as I found myself on a roller coaster eyewear bonanza of making glasses for everyone. I’ve only myself to blame as I wanted the film to look as authentic as possible – and glasses were ubiquitous in 1970s London. It was such an honour to work with the legendary Jenny Beavan and the brilliant production team. I can’t wait to see the film – and all my frames – up on-screen.”