We have covered many eyewear brands on this site, and it is rare for a new upstart brand to stick out in a meaningful way. Somehow, though, Hills Eyewear does that. To give a short history, the brand was started a few years ago by Iman Gadzhi, of YouTube fame, under the eponymous name “Gadzhi”. It recently rebranded, as it grew, to Hills. I was intrigued when I first saw the rebrand being advertised on Instagram. The ads and branding are super slick, clean, and modern, and there has clearly been a lot of thought and care put into how this brand looks and feels. I figured I would try a pair out, and ordered the H1’s for myself.
So - are they actually any good? As someone with very high standards for eyewear, I can confidently say that, yes, these are in fact quite good (with one big caveat, which will be explained later). They are well made, feel very solid, and are actually one of the most comfortable pairs of glasses I have ever worn. They are light without being too light, and all the finishing is clean, and neat, and overall feels quite good on the face. The frame design is also really good — the shape is phenomenal (you’d think a basic panto-style frame like this would be easy to do well, but I have seen countless bad examples; so, you’d be surprised), and I actually really like the matte black they use. It’s a design choice that can easily look “cheap”, but Hills manages to make it look exactly the opposite. This is partially due to the very nicely textured and engraved metal temple arms. Almost all of Hills frames use this same basic metal temple arm style, and I actually really like it as an overall brand design aesthetic. I thought it would be a bit much based on the photos online, but in person, it’s perfectly subtle enough. In all, the frames look and feel far above their price point. (The lenses are mediocre, honestly, but who cares — they can easily be changed for something higher end at any local optician if you care, or be filled with prescription lenses, like I would do.)
I also very much like and appreciate how the Hills design aesthetic flows through their whole collection. They are all similar frames, yet unique in their own way. They’re all great shapes, with some being more classic than others. And I am looking forward to see what else they release as well.
However, Hills glasses suffer from a very big problem, and is why I will not wear them: They are VERY SMALL. These are, seemingly, mostly designed as women’s frames. Or, at the very least, not for guys with even slightly above average face sizes. The widest current model of Hills is the H1 that I purchased, and the total width of the frame is only 136mm. This is very narrow to be the widest offering from a brand. Many men will simply not look good in this size frame. (Indeed, even on Iman himself, these frames often look a bit too small.) Just by way of one comparison, I will show a photo of a similar style Thom Browne frame, and you’ll see how much larger and more accommodating the sizing is. There need to be offerings in the 142mm-range from a brand! Too many people just do not fit into something smaller than that.
One mark of a truly great eyewear company is that they offer multiple sizes of their frames. Look at any great eyewear brand, for the most part, and you will see this to be true. Otherwise, an entire market of people simply cannot wear what you are selling.
For example: The H1 is currently a 47mm frame. An offering at 49mm or perhaps even 50mm — with the same nose bridge and temples, etc — would solve the problem. (If they wanted to go the extra mile, like the best brands do, they would offer the temple arms at 150mm instead of 145mm on this model, but I might ask for too much here…) Understandably, Hills is not a “luxury” brand. They are priced at a remarkably low $130-range. I don’t expect all the hallmarks of luxury from a brand at that price point. BUT - it costs little to produce a frame in a second size, when every other component is exactly the same, and, without additional size offerings so that most people can actually wear and enjoy the frames, Hills is hard to recommend. If they want to be a serious brand — and they are SO CLOSE — they need options in larger sizes.
And I truly hope they do. They’d open up a way larger market. More people would look good in their frames. And I, for one, would buy one in every color. No joke.
(If anyone from Hills is reading this — email me at mail@thepeaklapel.com and I would be happy to consult for free! Have done so for many other eyewear brands, and I would love to help.)