On Sunday evening, I found myself standing amongst a sold-out crowd at The Piece Hall in Halifax watching Paul Weller perform.
As hometown venues go, they don't come much better. Over the last few years, The Piece Hall has become one of the country's premier live music destinations, attracting artists I never imagined I would one day see perform just a few miles from where I grew up.
If you've ever visited Halifax, you'll know sunshine is not always guaranteed. But on the evening of the 14th of June 2026, the weather played its part perfectly. As the sun began to set over the historic courtyard, the atmosphere was already something special.
What made the evening even more memorable was that I had more than a concert on my mind.
A few weeks earlier, I had received a message from Paul Weller's team, asking if I could bring along A Mod 1 sunglasses frame with blue lenses.
As you can imagine, I didn't need asking twice.
The Mod 1 isn't just another frame in our collection. It's a frame we designed, inspired by the clean lines and distinctive silhouette of the Debbex sunglasses frame that Paul famously wore during the 80s.
Whether directly or indirectly, any conversation about Mod style eventually leads back to Paul Weller. His influence on British music, fashion and eyewear has been impossible to ignore for decades.
So there I was, standing in the crowd at The Piece Hall after personally handing the sunglasses to Paul's management team earlier that day, wondering what would happen next.
The truth is, I had absolutely no idea. Would he like them? Would they fit comfortably? Would they suit the outfit he'd chosen for the evening?
Once they disappeared backstage everything was completely out of my hands.
With my phone raised above the crowd I watched the band emerge onto the stage. First came Steve Cradock, he was wearing a brown-lensed Mod 1. Then came Paul Weller, he was wearing the blue-lensed Mod 1 I had delivered earlier that day.
For a few seconds I genuinely couldn't believe what I was seeing (no pun intended). The sunglasses looked perfectly at home alongside Paul's Baracuta G9 Harrington Jacket and white denim jeans. More importantly, they looked exactly as I had always imagined.
It was one of those rare moments where everything seems to slow down.
A frame that stemmed from an idea, inspired by a pair of sunglasses Paul Weller once wore, was now being worn by Paul Weller himself.
Where the Story Really Begins
To explain why this moment means so much, I need to go back a little further.
Having worked in Optics for nearly twenty years and being a qualified Dispensing Optician, it's safe to say I am fascinated by eyewear.
Not just as a practical object, but as part of a person's identity.
The right frame can become inseparable from the person wearing it. Think of John Lennon and his round spectacles. Michael Caine and his iconic thick-rimmed glasses. Or Paul Weller and the sharp, confident sunglasses that became part of his enduring image.
For many people, music influences what they listen to. For me, it also influenced how I looked at eyewear.
Over the years, that fascination became Retro Spectacle, which is celebrating 10 years of business this year. A business built around preserving, restoring and celebrating great eyewear design.
Every day we handle original vintage frames from some of the most respected manufacturers in the world. The more vintage eyewear I saw, the more I appreciated the details that separate a good frame from a great one.
Certain shapes never seem to go out of style. Certain proportions just work. Certain frames look as stylish as they did fifty years ago. Those were the ideas that eventually led to the Mod 1.
Creating the Mod 1
The Mod 1 was inspired by my admiration for the vintage Debbex sunglasses that became synonymous with Paul Weller's style during the 1980s. A simplistic design, with clean lines,and angular definition around the bridge. We initially started with polarised lenses in brown and grey, and have grown the collection to offer different coloured lenses. We also have fitted prescription lenses to this frame, making it all the more versatile.
Back to Halifax
That's why standing in The Piece Hall felt so surreal. This wasn't a celebrity endorsement arranged through an agency. It wasn't a paid placement. It wasn't the result of a carefully planned marketing campaign.
It was simply a frame that had been created with genuine admiration for the culture that inspired it finding its way back to one of the people who helped shape that culture in the first place. And by luck that happened in my hometown. Of all the places it could have happened, it happened in Halifax.
As the evening went on and the songs rolled out, I was in a state of euphoria. Not just because both Paul Weller and Steve Cradock were wearing my Mod 1 sunglasses, but because of everything that moment represented. Years of work, learning and growth, building an independent business around something I genuinely love.
For one evening, everything came full circle. A frame inspired by a musician's style. Designed by an independent business built around a love of vintage eyewear. Handed over backstage in my hometown. Then worn on stage by the very person who helped inspire it. You couldn't have written the story any better.