ASHLEY BEZAMAT

Ashley Bezamat grew up surrounded by men driven by both speed and style. His grandfathers raced bicycles in the Olympics for the French National Team, and motorcycles in the desert with California legends like Steve McQueen. His father was an expert out-of-bounds skier who, after suffering snow blindness on a French glacier as a teen, was known for his ever-present sunglass frames.

When he was 30, Ashley went to the Italian Alps to create a project in homage to both his family’s legacy for sport, and his own interest in luxury products. It was in Italy that he met the Maestri, expertly skilled craftspeople whose families had been hand-making the finest glasses in the world since the 17th century.

In 2012, Ashley relocated to Europe to begin his training. Studying under the Maestri, he moved from novice to apprentice as his knowledge of the expert techniques of centuries-old eyewear and his fluency in Italian grew. In 2016, Ashley knew he wanted to build on what he’d learned, and bring the dying art of handcrafted sunglasses to the U.S.

Now living in Los Angeles, Ashley operates his own Alpine workshop in the heart of the city. Everything in the shop – from the machines he salvaged from foreclosed Italian factories, to the stunning Italian acetate and Polarized glass Ashley uses to build every pair – is true to the traditions he first discovered and honed in the foothills of the Alps.

Dom Vetro is the only visual experience like it in the world.