The sun has been shining on London’s most fashionable streets lately and we got inspired to look back at some of the world most renown sunglasses manufacturers of the last century. Frankly we didn’t have to dig that dip before finding some of the most iconic designs and enduring styles ever made.
Below are some of our favorites.
Shuron has been an optical manufacturer since 1865. The Shuron’s frames have been on screen on almost all the major Motion Pictures and TV series across the US where Retro frames have been used. The Ronsir ZYL frame was chosen for the set of the Academy Awards winner JFK. Shuron has survived almost 140 years within three centuries and two millenniums by producing quality, fashionable products that remain in style and demand.
Above the Ronsir clip-on had its 16,000,000th sale on August 6, 1971.
The Brownline Ronsir became one of the most significant frame design of the 20th century. The first ever combination frame featuring plastic tops on metal rims with plastics temples. Developed in 1947 by Jack Rohrbach, a Shuron vice president, the frame became a run-away best seller that started a design trend that ultimately affected almost half of all frames sold during the 1950’s.
Above the Freeway, a classic 50’s frame with Demi Amber polarised lens.
Turin 1917, Giuseppe Ratti, photographer and owner of Berry Opticians, began an adventure destined to lead to international success. Indeed, it was in a small courtyard in Via Caboto that he began to make technically advanced glasses, designed to satisfy the demands of pilots and sports drivers who required comfort, protection and optimum vision. The Protector glass were born.
Intuition, ingenuity, innovation and quality made Protector glasses the choice of several air forces around the world, including the United States. During this period they were worn by flying, driving and motorcycling aces – D’Annunzio, De Pinedo, Ferrarin, Chiron, Nazzaro, Fangio, Opessi, Bolognini and Ghersi to name but a few of their most famous users.
Subsequent development of the Protector model, guided by an intuition and determination to create truly revolutionary sunglasses in terms of quality and ease of wearing, led to the creation of the Persol trademark (Persol from “per il sole” meaning “for the sun”, highlighting their function of protection against the sun’s rays).
Above the Model 649, built for tram drivers in Turin who needed large glasses to protect their eyes against the air and dust, was created in 1957. The novelty of its design made it a very successful pair of glasses, copied over the years by many competitors, and in 1961 they entered into legend when Marcello Mastroianni wore them in the film “Divorce Italian Style”.
It was 1968 when an already famous and charming Steve McQueen appeared on set wearing the Persol PO 714 SM model, as seen above, for the first time. The film was The Thomas Crown Affair.
Persol glasses have been worn by great names in international cinema who have chosen the Italian sunglasses par excellence not only on set but also in their day-to-day life. Persol’s long “filmography” began in the 1960s and continues to grow, marking a truly special and magical love story with the movie industry.
Ray-Bans were created in 1937. Some years earlier, Lieutenant John MacCready returned from a balloon flying adventure and complained that the sun had permanently damaged his eyes. He contacted Bausch & Lomb asking them to create sunglasses that would provide protection and also look elegant.
On May 7, 1937, Bausch & Lomb took out the patent. The prototype, known as Anti-Glare, had an extremely light frame weighing 150 grams. They were made of gold-plated metal with green lenses made of mineral glass to filter out infrared and ultraviolet rays. Pilots in the United States Army Air Corps immediately adopted the sunglasses.
The Ray-Ban Aviator above became a well-known style of sunglasses when General Douglas MacArthur landed on the beach in the Philippines in World War II, and photographers snapped several pictures of him wearing them. The aviator style has been popular since the 1960s, but became even more so in the 1980s following pop culture references concerning Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
The Ray-Ban Way Farer sunglasses have been manufactured by Ray-Ban since 1952, when their design was a revolutionary break from the metal eye-wear of the past.
The design was a radically new shape, “a mid-century classic to rival Eames chairs and Cadillac tail fins.” According to design critic Stephen Bayley, the “distinctive trapezoidal frame spoke a non-verbal language that hinted at unstable dangerousness, but one nicely tempered by the sturdy arms which, according to the advertising, gave the frames a ‘masculine look.'”
The Wayfarers below, which took advantage of new plastic molding technology, marked the transition between a period of eyewear with thin metal frames and an era of plastic eyewear. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to the Italian Luxottica Group.
Since 1970, Linda Farrrow has been famed for innovative fashion-forward sunglasses of the very highest quality. A clothing designer by training, Linda Farrow was among the first to treat sunglasses as fashion.
Above Linda Farrow original vintage 80’s
Her eponymous label, established in 1970, quickly rose to acclaim among the stylish Londoners and the international jet set. A tireless experimenter, Farrow pioneered shapes and styles that remain “au courant” today.
Above Linda Farrow by The Row.
Linda Farrow’s relentless pursuit of luxury, innovation and cutting edge design continue to mark the brand almost forty years later. Renowned for its Luxe collections, its collaborations with many of the world’s most acclaimed designers, and its unprecedented range of vintage originals, Linda Farrow has established itself as one of the most exciting brands in fashion today.
Above Linda Farrrow by Raf Simon.
Enjoy the weather!
xx
