Youth avoids Manchester cliches for city's first Cubitts eyewear store

British eyewear brand Cubitts has unveiled its first shop in Manchester, designed by locally based studio Youth to reflect the city's industrial and musical history without resorting to the obvious.

Youth co-founders Oliver Collinge and Liam McGroarty planned the interior to reflect the present and future of the British city, with subtle references to the past rather than cliches.

It includes a shelving display combining tubular steel uprights with dapple-textured glass shelves, a faceted oak counter housing a till and record player, and a pair of figurative sandstone sculptures by artist Richard Perry.

The designers aimed to create a space "that feels both familiar and distinctly contemporary".

"Inspired by the city itself, the space draws on Manchester's culture and historic character, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens," they said.

The approach reflects the brief set by Cubitts founder Tom Broughton "to make the space feel distinctly Cubitts without resorting to the usual Manchester shorthand".

"It was important that Cubitts Manchester was designed in Manchester, and not just deposited here," Broughton said.

"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."

The store is located in Smithfield Buildings in the Northern Quarter, a collection of buildings that once housed the Affleck & Brown department store, dubbed the 'Harrods of the North'.

After more than a decade looking at locations, Broughton and his team chose this one for its history as a supplier of cloth and made-to-measure garments.

This aligns with Cubitts' own approach, with facilities for eye examinations, spectacle repairs and customisation made visible in the store.

"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," said Broughton.

Waxed cotton curtains softly divide different areas in tribute to Affleck & Brown's legacy, while other additions include a vintage revolving bookcase.

Produced by Manchester cabinetmakers Goodall, Lamb and Heighway, this century-old piece was made with salvaged timber from the Royal Navy ship HMS Foudroyant.

Artworks also hint at industrial production; a seamstress is depicted in a painting by artist Francis Hoyland, while a cubist gouache by artist Marcel Gille depicts a forge worker.

Completing the design are dimpled mirrors that offer slightly cloudy reflections and a collection of records spanning soul, jazz, punk and electronica.

Cubitts Manchester is the brand's 21st location, following others that include the peep-show-inspired Cubitts Soho and the art-deco-style Cubitts Leeds.

The company also just unveiled a new headquarters in London's King's Cross, in a historic building that began as a working stable for the Crosse & Blackwell Vinegar Works, before being converted into an office for a publishing house.

The photography is courtesy of Cubitts.

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