Johnny Marr designs limited-edition rock ‘n’ roll Ray-Bans
The Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr, wore Ray-Bans “all the time” in his 80s heyday, and now he revamps the brand’s Signet sunglasses
Johnny Marr (left), the musical mastermind behind British indie bands like The Smiths and The Cribs, has always had a soft spot for Ray-Bans. Now, his love affair with the American eyewear brand has come full circle with the Ray-Ban Raw Sounds project, where Marr got to design his own version of Ray-Ban’s Signet sunglasses.
Marr made the Signet his own by choosing blue-tinted lenses, a gunmetal frame and adding his signature on the arms (see photo gallery below). Only 1,500 pairs of the Johnny Marr x Ray-Ban sunglasses will be available worldwide, and each pair will be numbered at the temple.
For Marr, making his design debut with Ray-Ban made perfect sense. “When I first started out with The Smiths I wore them (Ray-Bans) all the time”, Marr recalled.
“I used to work in a shop in Manchester during the early 80s, we were the very first selling Ray-Bans. I recall I purposely ordered one pair for me so I could be one of the few people in Manchester at the time wearing Ray-Bans.”
Marr isn’t the only rock ‘n’ roll music legend to swear by Ray-Bans. Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground and Johnny Cash were just some of the early Ray-Ban wearing musicians who made the shades a byword for cool.
After that, almost everyone – from Tom Cruise in Top Gun to Barack Obama on the cover of Ebony magazine – has worn Ray-Ban’s Wayfarer or Aviator sunglasses to look cool without even trying.
Apart from the limited edition glasses, the Ray-Ban Raw Sounds project sees Marr working with up-and-coming indie artistes like Best Coast, Au Revoir Simone, Tom Vek, Carsick Cars and Mona to create original compositions. These new songs were played at Ray-Ban Raw Sound concerts in New York, London and most recently in Hong Kong.
Johnny Marr’s Limited Edition Ray-Ban sunglasses will hit the shelves from March 2012 at $179 each. They will be available at the following locations: Specialist Eyecare Centre at Great World City, Capitol Group at Forum Shopping Centre, The Optique at ION Orchard, Integrated Eyecare Centre and Better Vision at Vivocity, Alexis at Ngee Ann City, CEDS at Takashimaya and Northern Optical at Bukit Panjang Plaza. You can also order them online at www.ray-ban.com.
