One of the many advantages lovers of sunglasses have going for them is that there are many eyewear brands and companies in the world. Who in their pursuit of excellence continue to advance the industry of eyewear.
Here is a list of some of the most noteworthy among them.
Ray-Ban
Ray-Ban as a sunglasses brand is a name that needs no introduction, at least to sunglasses connoisseurs. The brand founded in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb, has been one of, if not the most influential sunglass brands of the century.
Ray-Ban is perhaps best known for its signature line of Sunglasses; the Aviators and The Wayfarer sunglasses. These two sunglass types were pioneered by Ray-Ban and are perhaps the most famous sunglasses types in the world.
The Ray-Ban Aviators were designed for airline pilots to help protect their eyes in the line of duty. As such Ray-Ban designed Aviators with a fashionable metallic frame and large tapering lenses that covered the whole eye. Suffice it to say, the Aviators were an instant hit. They have since become mainstream sunglasses brands and are a must-have in any sunglasses lover’s wardrobe.
The Ray-Ban Wayfarers came out as a result of advances made in plastic moulding. These advances allowed Ray-Ban to employ the use of plastic in designing sunglass frames. And thus the standard Wayfarer was born. The Wayfarer has gone on to become the most popular and common type of sunglasses in the world. Think of your typical plastic framed sunglasses variety and you are smack on the mark.
The company (Ray-Ban) has cemented its place at the top of the sunglass brand hierarchy thanks in part to its attention to detail, craftsmanship and quality.
The company, once an American brand, was sold by its founders, Bausch & Lomb, to Italian firm Luxottica in 1999. The brand however continues to do what it does best, make high-quality, good-looking sunglasses for its massive clientele around the world.
Oakley
Oakley, Inc. is an American-based extension of the EssilorLuxxoticca company. The latter emerged in 2018 as a merger between Italian conglomerate Luxottica and French firm Essilor.
Oakley, Inc. was founded in 1957 by a man called James Jannard, it is said his initial seed capital was the sum total of $300. In a typical grass-to-grace fashion, the brand he built became a global success and was acquired by Luxxoticca in 2007 to the tune of $2.1 Billion.
Oakley, Inc. designs and manufactures sunglasses, sports visors, safety glasses, apparel and other accessories.
Such is the success of the brand that it has brand dealings with two Formula 1 teams, the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team and the Aston Martin F1 Team.
Carrera
Carrera, the Sunglasses brand, is synonymous with high-quality sunglasses and boundary-pushing designs. Their website states that the Carerra brand is for “people who live by their own rules, continuously defying themselves and proudly approaching life standing out from the crowd.”
Carrera was founded in Austria by Wilhelm Anger in 1956 as a sports eyewear company. The brand name was inspired by a cross-country car race, “the Carrera Panamericana” which ran the entire length of Mexico in the 1950s.
Carrera then became a top winter sportswear brand in the 1970s, designing ski-googles, and helmets for winter sport athletes. In 1976, the brand collaborated with Porsche, designing the famous Carrera Porsche 5620 series of sunglasses.
In 1979, in a move considered bold and risky in the sunglasses industry, Carrera pioneered the Carrera endurance sunglasses, which featured the brand acronym “C” in the front centre of the sunglasses.
Other noteworthy Carrera sunglasses designs include the Carrera Safari in 1981, the Carrera and Niki Lauda edition in 1985, and Carrera and Boeng Collaboration sunglasses in 1989 just to name a few.
Carrera continues to design some of the most outstanding sunglasses out there.
Persol
Persol is one of the oldest sunglass brands in the world. Founded in 1917 by an Italian optician by the name of Giuseppe Ratti. In 1995, the brand was acquired by Luxottica and remains a subsidiary of the latter to date.
Persol Eyewear company pioneered some truly game-changing technologies including Meflecto. (Meflecto was an eyewear technology that was patented by Persol in the late 1930s.) It allows for the glass frame to flex and adapt to the shape of the head.
According to Persol “The Meflecto system allows the glasses to adapt to the unique shape of any face and still today represents a technologically unsurpassed solution.”
Persol continues to create stunning sunglasses and has earned its place at the top of sunglasses brands.
Linda Farrow
Linda Farrow was founded in 1970 by Linda Farrow, a fashion designer. After a few years of running the brand, she closed the shop in the 80s. However, the brand was revived in 2003 by Linda Farrow’s son Simon Jablon.
Mr Jablon found some of his mother’s designs in a family warehouse during a cleaning exercise with his girlfriend Tracy Sedino and chose to relaunch the brand. He currently serves as the founder and creative director of Linda Farrow.
Some of the best sunglasses from Linda Farrow are Linda Farrow Mila, Natalia, Loni and Simon.
Honourable Mentions
Dkny Sunglasses
DKNY stands for Donna Karan New York. Dorah Karan is the brains behind the sunglasses brand DKNY which she founded in New York in the year 1984.
DKNY specialises in the design and manufacture of clothing, footwear, sunglasses and other fashion accessories.
Their sunglasses line stand out for its focus on creating some of the best sunglasses for women. Donna Karan as a woman was motivated to revolutionise fashion for women. Something she continues to do with her DKNY sunglasses line.
Akila Eyewear
Created by fashion designer Chris Mart, Akila prides itself on being a modern eyewear company.
The brand, according to its website, is a private eyewear company based in Los Angeles and their focus is handmade, limited-run eyewear.
They also maintain that all their sunglasses are made from eco-friendly cellulose acetate and are fitted with 100% Ultraviolet protection.
Sun Buddies
Sunbuddies is a luxury eyewear company by Swedish fashion brand Tres Bien.
Crap Eyewear
Crap Eyewear is a Los Angeles based eyewear company that in their own words “was born in reaction to an expensive and often all-too-serious eyewear market.”
They create colourful and playful eyewear designs and have become a massive success in recent years.
Summary
This post does not exhaust or cover all the beautiful and successful eyewear brands that exist in their entirety. Still, these are some of the best eyewear designers in the market right now. They continue to push the eyewear game forward to all our benefit. Thanks for reading.
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