“I consider Jacques Marie Mage as a luxury project.”
For founder Jérôme Mage, that distinction helps explain why the cult independent eyewear label’s long-awaited New York debut looks less like a traditional optical boutique and more like an immersive personal collector’s world brought to life. The Los Angeles-based brand is one the most influential names in independent luxury eyewear and has cultivated a devoted following in New York for years with stylists, collectors and independent optical retailers. But Mage was firm that opening a permanent gallery in Manhattan was never going to happen until he found a space capable of fully expressing its singular vision.
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Located at 140 Wooster Street in SoHo, Jacques Marie Mage’s first New York gallery is the largest globally to date. “We’ve been trying to open New York for five years, literally,” Mage told WWD. “For an independent project like us with a very specific vision, we don’t want just a space. We want a space to create something that is unique and that makes people curious, interested, fall in love with our collectible objects, and create a sense of community.”
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Developed in collaboration with French architect and interior designer Jacques Garcia, the 2,100-square-foot, multilevel gallery blends mirrored Art Deco interiors, exotic woods and monumental works by French artist Quentin Garel into an environment that feels equal parts private residence, cabinet of curiosities and art gallery. The space also features vintage furnishings by Eileen Gray and antiques sourced by Garcia, reinforcing the residential quality Mage sought to create.
“The point is creating a special experience in a place where you feel you can learn and discover things in an intimate manner,” Mage said. “I never really saw myself making a retail space.”
The gallery’s opening underscored that positioning with an intimate gathering held on May 28 featuring a performance by Patti Smith, a longtime friend of the house, alongside guests including Mark Ronson, Nan Goldin, Mario Sorrenti, Antoni Porowski, Grace Gummer and George Cortina. Conservationist Douglas Smith, whose work protecting wolves in Yellowstone has informed the brand’s long-standing stewardship initiatives, also addressed attendees, further connecting the gallery’s design narrative to JMM’s broader cultural and philanthropic interests.
In fact, Mage said he never initially intended for Jacques Marie Mage to build a global gallery network at all. The first location, opened in Venice, Calif., evolved naturally around collectible objects, artwork and the community formed around the brand. “A lot of people that would come to the space would say, ‘Oh, it feels like a gallery,’” he said. “It kind of self-defined itself.” What began organically eventually became a critical part of the company’s growth strategy, allowing Mage to present the full breadth of the brand’s world beyond eyewear alone.
Visitors entering the SoHo gallery’s second floor pass through the open jaws of a towering wolf sculpture, one of three oversized works commissioned from Garel specifically for the gallery. A large charcoal drawing by the artist further anchors the space’s wilderness narrative, which draws inspiration from Yellowstone and the broader mythology of the American West.
The immersive concept reflects what Mage described as a “rewilding New York,” juxtaposing the intensity of urban life with the mythology and vulnerability of the American wilderness. “I wanted to bring the idea of nature and the spirit of the wild into the store,” he explained.
That layered storytelling continues throughout the merchandising strategy as well. Eyewear remains central to the business, but there are also dedicated spaces for jewelry, leather goods and collectible objects displayed more like personal artifacts than traditional luxury accessories. A mezzanine level houses the brand’s jewelry offering. According to Mage, a collection of fine jewelry handcrafted in Paris and produced to “Vendôme quality” is slated to launch in September — a move that further positions the business as a broader luxury brand rather than a single-category accessories label.
Despite the gallery-like setting, the focus remains on discovery rather than exclusivity. Mage said there are currently no products available only in New York, allowing the space itself — rather than merchandise — to serve as the primary differentiator.
Even as the brand expands into adjacent luxury categories, Mage still views eyewear as the emotional and narrative core of Jacques Marie Mage — the object through which collectors first enter the world he has built around the brand.
Each gallery, Mage explained, is conceived almost as an extension of “Jacques,” the fictionalized character behind the brand’s name. For the New York location, he imagined a Franco-American anthropologist moving between Manhattan and Yellowstone, collecting natural artifacts, rare furnishings and Art Deco treasures.
“Each gallery is constructed as a space that represents my alter ego,” he said. “It’s almost like a short movie.”
Long before scarcity, Japanese craftsmanship and collector-driven storytelling became ubiquitous across independent luxury eyewear JMM, as the brand is commonly called among collectors, helped position frames more like watches, jewelry or works of design. Mage — himself an avid collector — said that emotional connection was intentional from the beginning.
“A collectible object has a story to tell,” he said. “A lot of our collectors will mention, ‘I don’t just buy the frame, I buy the mystique, I buy the storytelling behind it as much as I buy the frame.’”
As the broader market increasingly adopts similar language around limited production and craftsmanship, he remains focused on maintaining the brand’s originality through design innovation and obsessive attention to detail and isn’t fazed: “people copy what we’ve done, not what we’re going to do,” he said.
Part of that forward-looking approach includes deeper investment in production and technical development. Last fall, JMM opened its own atelier in Japan, where the company is developing proprietary manufacturing techniques and increasingly complex frame constructions. Upcoming releases include a new titanium collection built using 6-millimeter titanium — thicker than the typical industry standard and requiring specialized industrial presses available at only a handful of facilities in Japan.
“The biggest reason why we are doing that is because we’re willing to go through the pain of it,” Mage said of the new innovation.
For Mage, the galleries are meant to function less as branded retail boxes and more as fully authored worlds, each tied to its own narrative, aesthetic language and emotional atmosphere. “There’s not one piece of furniture or one finishes or one design element that is carried from one store to the other,” he said.
Even as the brand continues to deepen its relationships with Hollywood creatives and red carpet talent — from Jeff Goldblum to stylist George Cortina — Mage insists the company’s cultural relevance has grown organically.
“People come to us,” he said.“ We don’t really pay people. They recognize the authenticity in it.”
Looking ahead, JMM plans to continue expanding its global gallery footprint, with Japan remaining a focus due to the company’s deep manufacturing relationships there. But Mage said the guiding principle behind the brand remains unchanged.
“Luxury is very much about controlling the experience around your project,” he said. “The best way to share it with people is to continue to give them a place where they can have the complete Jacques Marie Mage experience.”