History
The History Of Ray-Ban Wayfarer
The Ray-Ban Wayfarer is a design of sunglasses manufactured by Ray-Ban since 1952, when their design was a revolutionary break from the metal eyewear of the past. Wayfarers enjoyed early popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, especially after they were worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Though the sunglasses had faded from the limelight by the 1970s, a lucrative 1982 product placement deal brought Wayfarers to their height of popularity. Since the mid-2000s, the sunglasses have been enjoying a revival. Wayfarers are sometimes cited as the best-selling design of sunglasses in historyand have been called a classic of modern designand one of the most enduring fashion icons of the 20th century..
Mid-2000s comeback
Wayfarers were brought back into fashion in the mid-2000s when celebrities including Chloë Sevigny and Mary-Kate Olsen began wearing vintage frames.Ray-Ban designers soon noticed that vintage Wayfarers were commanding high prices on eBay, and the 2007 re-introduction of the original Wayfarer design aimed to respond to the demand. (As of 2007, Wayfarers were available in Original Wayfarer, New Wayfarer, and Wayfarer Folding styles.) Ray-Ban's marketing strategy was threefold: a return to the sunglasses' original, rebellious design, an "edgy" advertising campaign and "high-profile PR events", and the use of new media like MySpace to connect with consumers. Sales in 2007 were 231% greater than in 2006; as of October 2007, the Wayfarer was the Luxottica Group's third-best-selling style. As of July 2008, sales had increased 40% over 2007.
During the 2000s Wayfarer revival, many sunglasses designs inspired by the original Wayfarers were produced by designers unaffiliated with Ray-Ban. Grey Ant's Grant Krajecki designed a larger, cartoonish version of the glasses "so extreme that [they] are best worn by those with a good sense of humor". Sabre Vision's "Poolside" design is a smaller, thinner version that resembles "a cross between old-school Oakleys and the pair worn by Tom Cruise in 'Risky Business. Other Wayfarer-inspired sunglasses included Oliver Peoples' "Hollis", REM Eyewear's "Converse", and various designs in Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss, Kate Spade, and Marc Jacobs' 2008 lines. Between July and September 2008, retailers began selling frameless Wayfarers.
In early 2008, Ray-Ban released a line of "colorized" Wayfarers. These frames came in such colors as camouflage, pink, navy blue, and turquoise. Other designs featured color-combinations like gold on black, red on tortoise-shell, and white on black. These new-edition Wayfarers were part of the Ray-Ban "Colorize" line.
The Ray-Ban Wayfarer is a design of sunglasses manufactured by Ray-Ban since 1952, when their design was a revolutionary break from the metal eyewear of the past. Wayfarers enjoyed early popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, especially after they were worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Though the sunglasses had faded from the limelight by the 1970s, a lucrative 1982 product placement deal brought Wayfarers to their height of popularity. Since the mid-2000s, the sunglasses have been enjoying a revival. Wayfarers are sometimes cited as the best-selling design of sunglasses in historyand have been called a classic of modern designand one of the most enduring fashion icons of the 20th century..
Wayfarers were brought back into fashion in the mid-2000s when celebrities including Chloë Sevigny and Mary-Kate Olsen began wearing vintage frames.Ray-Ban designers soon noticed that vintage Wayfarers were commanding high prices on eBay, and the 2007 re-introduction of the original Wayfarer design aimed to respond to the demand. (As of 2007, Wayfarers were available in Original Wayfarer, New Wayfarer, and Wayfarer Folding styles.) Ray-Ban's marketing strategy was threefold: a return to the sunglasses' original, rebellious design, an "edgy" advertising campaign and "high-profile PR events", and the use of new media like MySpace to connect with consumers. Sales in 2007 were 231% greater than in 2006; as of October 2007, the Wayfarer was the Luxottica Group's third-best-selling style. As of July 2008, sales had increased 40% over 2007.
During the 2000s Wayfarer revival, many sunglasses designs inspired by the original Wayfarers were produced by designers unaffiliated with Ray-Ban. Grey Ant's Grant Krajecki designed a larger, cartoonish version of the glasses "so extreme that [they] are best worn by those with a good sense of humor". Sabre Vision's "Poolside" design is a smaller, thinner version that resembles "a cross between old-school Oakleys and the pair worn by Tom Cruise in 'Risky Business. Other Wayfarer-inspired sunglasses included Oliver Peoples' "Hollis", REM Eyewear's "Converse", and various designs in Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss, Kate Spade, and Marc Jacobs' 2008 lines. Between July and September 2008, retailers began selling frameless Wayfarers.
In early 2008, Ray-Ban released a line of "colorized" Wayfarers. These frames came in such colors as camouflage, pink, navy blue, and turquoise. Other designs featured color-combinations like gold on black, red on tortoise-shell, and white on black. These new-edition Wayfarers were part of the Ray-Ban "Colorize" line.
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