In partnership with Warby Parker, New York fashion industry darling Theophilio has created a line of limited-edition eyewear.
The Shaunie sunglasses are inspired by Theophilio brand designer Edvin Thompson’s Jamaican heritage and merge nostalgia with futuristic design elements — and the name comes from Thompson’s childhood nickname. Continuing to home in on his upbringing, Thompson was inspired by a photograph of his dad in the early 2000s when he boarded a plane from Jamaica to America. The result is an oversized and rectangular silhouette and serves as a reminder of his childhood in Kingston, Jamaica.
“These sunglasses are like a memoir for me,” said Thompson. “I see my adolescence and my parents in them, but I also see the shape of things still to come. This collaboration is all about where I’m coming from as a designer and where I’m going next.”
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Notably, the Shaunie eyepieces are constructed through laminating opaque acetate over translucent material, a first for Warby Parker, to create a distinctive outline effect around each lens.
Five colorways, including “Shade,” “Lemon Slice” and “Sorrel,” will be available for purchase on warbyparker.com, Warby Parker’s app and select stores in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Toronto. Starting at $145, each pair sold will contribute to the eyewear company’s “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program that commits to social responsibility by providing a person in need with glasses.
“It’s been an honor to help Theophilio make their foray into eyewear,” said Neil Blumenthal, cofounder and co-chief executive officer of Warby Parker. “The frames we made together are the perfect synthesis of our expertise in the field and Edvin’s deeply personal aesthetic.”
Theophilio’s brand director, Antoine Gregory, founder of Black Fashion Fair, a media, commerce and high culture platform, created a place of discovery for past, present and future Black designers and Black-owned brands. The two brands first came together in 2022 during the inaugural publication of Black Fashion Fair, Volume 0.
The publication’s debut was a comprehensive collection of fashion imagery featuring emerging and established talent worldwide. The platform will sell an exclusive shade of the Shaunie eyewear, “Soursop,” at blackfashionfair.org.
“Warby Parker has been an exciting partner since we launched our inaugural publication with them in 2022,” Gregory exclusively told WWD. “I think it’s imperative that Black designers have the same access to resources and opportunity as their peers. Warby Parker wanting to collaborate with Theophilio is something they believed in fully and so did the team at Theophilio. I am happy to have been a part of this journey with Edvin and Warby Parker. I am excited about the work Black Fashion Fair does and continues to set a standard for.”
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