Every so often a brand comes along that makes a whole country change how it thinks about a category. In Brazil, for eyewear, that brand is Zerezes. It began with four design students in Rio who wanted a pair of frames they simply couldn't buy. So they built them. What grew out of that is the house that turned óculos from a functional purchase into a signature you choose the way you choose a fragrance.
How it started
Rio, 2011. Luiz Eduardo Rocha, Henrique Meyrelles, Hugo Galindo and Victor Lanari were studying design at PUC-Rio, chasing a specific pair of frames they'd seen made abroad. When they couldn't get them, they walked into the university's prototyping lab and made their own.
Friends started asking where to buy a pair. Someone floated the obvious question, why not make a brand of it, and the four of them pooled around R$1,500 to find out. They sold two pairs, turned the money into four more, then ten. Small moves, made on purpose. Rodrigo Latini would later join and take the company to national scale as CEO, but the instinct never changed: design the thing you wish existed, then hand it to people who feel the same way.
The design language
Zerezes reads as unmistakably carioca. Easy, confident, a little sun-warmed, the kind of eyewear that belongs on a Tuesday commute and a rooftop the same evening.
Everything's designed in-house, and every model gets a name and a personality instead of a product code. The acetate is where the house shows its hand. The tortoises alone give it away: the Zulli in tortoise-araçá, mixed to the exact muddy green-brown of the Brazilian guava it's named for, or the Haru Cliff in tortoise-mello, a honeyed havana that catches warmer at the temple than the standard havana ever does.
The current Miragem collection moves through rounds, squares, cat-eyes and geometrics, prescription from R$645 and the fuller acetates near R$995, basic lenses included on the optical frames, full UVA/UVB on the sun. Design with a point of view, priced to actually land on a face.
The company it keeps
You can read a house by who it stands next to, and Zerezes has kept the right company since the beginning.
FARM was the first turn, the label that more or less bottles carioca summer, placing an order that sent word racing through Rio.
Then came MASP, the São Paulo Museum of Art, a collaboration that quietly states the ambition: this is closer to a design object than an accessory. Long before the shopping-mall stores, the frames sold through art institutions like MAR and Inhotim, which is not the usual runway for an eyewear startup and tells you the work was taken seriously from day one.
Who's wearing it
Then there's the moment every founder dreams about. Carolina Dieckmann posted a pair on Instagram.
That's been the rhythm ever since. Zerezes lives on the carioca fashion crowd, on Fashion Rio runways, and now on a generation of Brazilian influencers who post the frames and pass around their own discount codes.
Where it's going
From a university prototyping lab to storefronts across the country, Pinheiros and Jardins in São Paulo, Leblon and Gávea in Rio, on to Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and further still.
That's remarkable reach for four design students, and the striking part is how little the point of view has moved. Made in Rio, drawn in-house, worn like a signature. We'll be watching what the next collection does.
FAQ
What is Zerezes and where did it start?
Zerezes is a Brazilian eyewear house founded in 2011 by four design students at PUC-Rio who couldn't find the frames they wanted. They made their own in a university prototyping lab, and the brand grew from there into a nationally recognized label.
Who are the founders of Zerezes?
The founders are Luiz Eduardo Rocha, Henrique Meyrelles, Hugo Galindo, and Victor Lanari, all design students in Rio. Rodrigo Latini later joined as CEO and helped scale the company nationally.
What makes Zerezes frames unique?
Zerezes frames have an unmistakably carioca design language—easy, confident, and sun-warmed. Every model gets a name and personality instead of a product code, and the acetate is mixed to specific colors like tortoise-araçá, named after the Brazilian guava.
How much do Zerezes glasses cost?
Prescription frames start at R$645, and fuller acetate styles are around R$995. Basic lenses are included on optical frames, and sun styles come with full UVA/UVB protection.
What collaborations has Zerezes done?
Zerezes collaborated with FARM, a label that embodies carioca summer, and with MASP, the São Paulo Museum of Art. They also sold through art institutions like MAR and Inhotim early on, positioning the frames as design objects.
Where can I buy Zerezes in Brazil?
Zerezes has storefronts across Brazil, including São Paulo's Pinheiros and Jardins, Rio's Leblon and Gávea, plus Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre. It started in art institutions and expanded from there.