LONDON — Linda Farrow is back.

The designer who launched her eponymous label of glamorous sunglasses in the ‘70s is now the face of the brand’s Iconic collection, wearing frames inspired by her original designs.

The Linda Farrow business was revived in 2003 by her son, Simon Jablon, the creative director and chief executive officer of the brand.

In the two decades since he’s been running the company, Linda Farrow the woman has been a guiding light for the brand and remains a strong pillar of its design identity.

“When we first restarted the brand, it was about reestablishing the brand on its own two feet and thinking about what the product was. Sometimes I felt that we didn’t lean into our heritage and our storytelling, which is a fantastic story. I feel like now’s a great time to really remind people who we are, where we’ve come from and how great our history and heritage is as a company,” Jablon said in an interview with his mother by his side.

“Who else could be the face of our Iconic collection other than my mother?”

In the campaign images, Farrow poses elegantly with a selection of oversize sunglasses and her hand by her chin, cheeks or clutching her arm as she looks away from the camera in a cream jacket. She’s nothing short of glamorous with her gold accessories and stern glare that has hints of Miranda Priestly, the larger-than-life character played by Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Farrow is a proud mother, more than anything.

“He’s done very well, so it’s actually been fun [to watch],” she said of her son.

Jablon has carried on his mother’s innovative spirit.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Farrow collaborated with the likes of Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Pucci on sunglasses, when the category was still relevantly small and brands didn’t have licensing partnerships.

Jablon has continued that tradition with collaborations with Dries Van Noten, Jacquemus and The Attico. 

“In those days, it was drastically new and everything was much the same all the time. I remember when I was in Italy and I was looking at all these beautiful colored glasses and materials, but people kept saying you’ll never sell these colors because in the U.K. it was just tortoise shells everywhere,” Farrow recalled.

The eyewear industry has transformed into a multibillion-dollar business and it’s far from the one that Farrow remembers from her heyday.

“At one time, London was really the hot spot for everything and people used to come over from Europe and all around the world. They would buy on the spot. In that time, we all got to know each other and things weren’t moving so fast. The buyers, shops [and press] had always been there,” she said.

Jablon has been reintroducing the human touch back into the brand with his business strategy. He’s no longer taking small meetings in between fashion weeks, but rather scheduling sit down dinners with important clients or buyers; hosting cocktail receptions at the store, and working with local social media influencers for different markets.

Last year the Linda Farrow brand introduced Black Series, a 26-piece men’s eyewear line that predominantly targeted men in order to hone its relationship with the male demographic.

It’s clear that Jablon has inherited his mother’s strong work ethic and adrenaline for trying out new things.

“[I made sure] a work ethic was passed down to my children because they were always in and around everything that was going on as young children and it became a part of their lives. My biggest thing to them was, ‘Always have reserves because markets and life always go up and down, but have reserves so that you survive,’” Farrow said.

Her advice has been priceless to Jablon and running the business.

He added that when he relaunched the company and asked for his mother’s critique, she said to him, “It’s not for me to critique your work. Artists don’t critique other artists. You do what’s in your heart and if it’s what you really believe in, then people will be drawn to that passion.”

In 2024, the accessories company reported it was growing at a rate of more than 80 percent year-on-year since the pandemic and was on course to maintain that growth rate. 

The women’s category makes up 70 percent of sales, while men’s has been steadily growing year-on-year over the past five years and makes up 30 percent of the brand’s sales.