“THE LOSS OF A BELOVED PAIR OF
VINTAGE SUNNIES GAVE ME THE FINAL PUSH.”

AHLEM was launched in 2014 by Parisian-born, Los Angeles-based designer, Ahlem Manai-Platt. Following ten years in fashion Manai-Platt saw her future in perfect vision. "I live in glasses," she says of the apparent career move into eyewear, which first sparked interest among friends at a café in Paris. "We were discussing goals, and I showed the group a sketch from my notebook. The expressed excitement gave me the guts; the loss of a beloved pair of vintage sunnies shortly thereafter gave me the final push. And that's how the brand was born."