Artists and Designers Create Signature Sunglasses as Cultural Artifacts

Alex Israel's Freeway eyewear line features annual collaborations with artists like John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, and Raymond Pettibon, whose 2015 frames include a line from his 1989 serigraph 'I Thought California Would Be Different.' These sunglasses are sold for $200 through ForYourArt, an LA initiative supporting local artists and institutions. Israel's artistic practice includes his As It Lays (2012) series, where he interviews LA figures like Marilyn Manson and Melanie Griffith while wearing his signature sunglasses. Fashion designer Marjan Pejoski's label Kokon To Zai collaborated with Linda Farrow to create a sculptural mask-like sunglasses structure called KTZ 9, priced at £180. Damir Doma designed Bradfield frames for Mykita with a medical aesthetic, costing £475. Bernhard Willhelm, who recently moved from Paris to LA, creates industrial visor sunshades for Mykita, priced at £459. Homes Eyewear, founded by Achille Bianchi of the OmniCorpDetroit collective, produces reclaimed wooden frames from Detroit's demolished buildings, with the Sturtevant model selling for $228. Cast Eyewear, founded by former production designer Miles Pitt in Australia, releases limited edition sunglasses like the Disco Stepchild model for $100. The article was published online exclusively on 30 July 2015.