Courtesy Renauld, The Kaiser Collection
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The 2020 summer of sunglasses is full of vintage. Perhaps because after the lockdown, as after every difficult moment in life, returning with the mind to the past, to family memories settled between yellowed polaroids and packs of postcards from the sea, makes us feel safer, gives us the invincible strength of our childhood. Everything speaks to the imperfect, from the rediscovery of outdoor cinemas with the inevitable drive-in effect, to the holidays to do absolutely in Italy, between the enchantment of the coasts, the suspended time of the cities and the jagged quiet of the peaks of Alps and Apennines. Leafing through the albums of the 60s and 70s, among flared trousers, mustaches and printed shirts, there is an accessory always in the foreground, an undisputed protagonist, the sunglasses.
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Courtesy Renauld; PIETER VAN WEST
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Among the classics such as the Aviator or the Wayfarer, there is a model with a different character. Its design, modern at the limits of the avant-garde, of the futuristic, leaves no room for imitations, as well as the materials, the 25-carat gold or silver plating: it is the Mustuld by Renauld. A name that ended too early in the collectors’ archives. This was conceived by the owner of the Sea & Ski Suntan Company, the American Charles Rolley, who would like to create a luxury merchandise to combine with his sun products. He studies the market and makes an agreement with the then giant of the Botany menswear. The first frame was released in 1961. It was a resounding success. The innovation in shapes and lenses, together with the manufacture that is often Italian, raise the price bar, which the public is well prepared to pay. The idea of extending the coverage field from UV rays to 180 degrees gives birth to the wraparound glasses as we know it. TWA (Trans World Airlines) adopts it for all its pilots and flight personnel, while it depopulates on the ski slopes of the most popular locations from Aspen to Sweden.
In the US of advertising consumerism, an object so out of the ordinary could not go unnoticed in the jet set in the eternal search for the original. Elvis’ personal assistant is said to be filming the film The barefoot sheriff, he gave $ 100 (and an autograph) to a fan of the singer who absolutely wanted those Renauld Panorama. It was 1962. From the King of Rock and Roll to Jacqueline Kennedy, from the Velvet Underground to the racing driver John Whitmore, the brand defines a lifestyle standard.
Hollywood celebrates them by giving them a very short shot but destined to change their history forever, in the opening scene of An Italian hit. In that 1969, in the cinema, there was a child who is so impressed that he is passionate about engines and, precisely, of those glasses. After more than 40 years and a lot of research between markets and junkies around the world, he buys a fair number of pieces, sometimes offering to pay them more than he was asked to.
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Courtesy Renauld PIETER VAN WEST
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The reason is that he realizes very quickly that there is a very small segment, a niche of rich nostalgics, who eagerly tries to return to the fabulous Seventies. “I have managed an amateur portal for over five years and the most requested item was the Mustang, so I decided to reproduce it,” he says. They are the gentlemen who have several editions of the Lamborghini Miura in the garage, the iconic car, together with the Mini Cooper, of An Italian hit (The Italian Job). That boy is called Gareth Llewelyn, and today he is a British entrepreneur who has managed to take over the brand. From the end of July 2020 it will bring it back to the market, starting from the online one, where it is already possible to pre-order the new models for figures ranging from 495 to 995 pounds.
“We will also make pop-ups, from two weeks to a maximum of one month, in collaboration with other selected brands”, for those who are satisfied with the thrill of trying them in the store. Keeping the mark that distinguishes them, he infused them with contemporary technology. A dip in the high bourgeois glamor from Christmas in a chalet in Courmayeur and August 15th in Forte dei Marmi.
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