general eyewear is london-based eyewear company and brand. the company was founded in the late 1990s by fraser laing. originally under the name arckiv, it produced its own original eyewear designs and had a particular specialism in vintage eyewear. in 2010 the company split into two distinct companies, arckiv became solely focused on menswear, while general eyewear became a stand-alone company and brand formed from the continuation of the original eyewear division.