The Shadier Side of Movies

An article by Lucy    No Comments

Whether you’re Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing inLas Vegasor Tom Cruise in Risky Business, there’s no doubt that when you don a pair of shades, you look cool.

Take the Randolph Engineering Aviator, which rose to cult fame when Robert De Niro sported a pair in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver and then again when Robert Duvall wore his Aviators in the 1979 Vietnam epic, Apocalypse Now. Originally built for the US military, this model is now on the wish list of fashion enthusiasts everywhere.

The legendary Steve McQueen brought Persol shades into the spotlight in films such as Bullitt, The Getaway and The Thomas Crowne Affair, (a pair of McQueen’s own personal collection fetched $70,000 in auction in 2006). The iconic images of the star’s shady appearances are as memorable today as they were back then.

Similarly, the Ray-Ban Aviator hit the headlines after Tom Cruise donned a pair in Top Gun. According to Time magazine, sales of Ray-Bans rose by 40% following the film’s release.

Cruise is again seen sporting Ray-Bans (this time the Wayfarer model) in the 80s flick Risky Business, in which he plays a budding student entrepreneur, left home alone when his parents go away on a trip. The sunglasses are the main feature of the film’s iconic poster image. Other stars sporting Ray-Bans on the big screen include Will Smith in Men in Black (RB 2030 Predators). Again, sales of Ray-Bans leapt considerably following the success of both movies.

In more recent years, Daniel Craig has taken to the screen adding shades to James Bond’s ultra cool image, first in Casino Royale (Persol 2720) and again in Quantum of Solace (Tom Ford 108). He then retained his link to Tom Ford, wearing the Marko model in the latest instalment, Skyfall.

Maybe it’s the fact that they hide the eyes, creating a sense of mystery or a darker side, reflecting the distance between the actor on screen and the cinemagoer in the audience. Perhaps, it’s the recreating of the iconic status when that same cinemagoer goes out and buys a matching pair. Whatever it is, the phenomenon of the movie shades is as prominent today as it was fifty years ago.