When it comes to matters of style, we’re not ones to argue with The Blues Brothers. Or Elvis Costello. Or Muhammed Ali. Or any of the besuited criminals from Reservoir Dogs. They all redefined what it was to be cool in their own way, and all of them wore Ray-Ban Wayfarers.
That’s not a coincidence. The go-to style of sunglasses for generations of discerning gents, Wayfarers are – we hate this word – timeless. They’re like the biker jacket of eyewear, only more wearable. They suit most face shapes, men and women. They work with your suit for a summer wedding or shorts and a T-shirt at the beach, and practically every dress code in between. And provided you don’t sit on them, they’ll last.
Compared to almost any other style, Wayfarers have trendproof staying power. Only aviators really come close. Round frames, wraparounds, those small Matrix-inspired cybergoth lenses – they’re all occasionally on trend, but while their time in the sun lasts about as long as the average British summer, Ray-Ban’s signature lens has been basking for more than 60 years.
A Brief History
The Wayfarer has always been cool, ever since its 1956 inception. Created by Bausch & Lomb – the old parent company behind Ray-Ban – the man responsible was Raymond Stegeman, a designer that wanted to pivot away from traditional metal frames and use acetate. The trapezoidal shape and sturdy arms made them a mid-century design classic, worn in the sixties by the likes of Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol.
After a relatively quiet spell in the seventies, Wayfarers exploded in popularity in the eighties, partly due to The Blues Brothers and partly due to a shrewd product placement deal that saw them on everything from Miami Vice to Tom Cruise’s grinning mug in Risky Business. After this, Wayfarers meant energy and rebelliousness.
The trend wheel, however, spun again. In the nineties, despite Quentin Tarantino’s best efforts, plastic sunglasses were dominated by the likes of Oakley, with wraparound styles throwing more retro designs into the shade. Bausch & Lomb sold Ray-Ban to the Luxottica Group in 1999 for $640m, and the Wayfarer was relaunched again in 2001.
Ever since, the style has been adopted by subcultures as diverse as nu rave and Pitti peacocks, its place in the menswear hall of fame fully cemented.
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