Styles come and go, but it stays: who founded Ray Ban?

The year is 1929, Lieutenant John A. Macready, who served as a pilot in the US Air Force, was assigned to a balloon flight. During the flight, the balloon suddenly burst and the vehicle began to lose altitude. Macready, whose eyes were damaged after the explosion, asked for some kind of eye protection material to be used on his next flights. Thus, the foundations were laid for the birth of the brand, whose reputation has spread all over the world and who has become an icon today: Ray-Ban.

Ray-Ban, one of the first brands that come to mind in the sunglasses industry, continues to make a name for itself with its stylish and trend-catching designs. Since its inception, the brand has been the choice of many celebrities and fashion icons. So, where did Ray-Ban's adventure begin? The brand has a very interesting story. In fact, Ray-Ban was founded in 1937, a date that many young people who find the brand's line can not predict.

The story of the creation of the first Ray-Ban is based on permanent damage to the eyes of a lieutenant named John Mac Cready. John Macready, who had an accident with a balloon that exploded, needed some kind of eye protection to use on his flights due to the discomfort in his eyes, and in 1929 a pair of Aviator style sunglasses were produced for him using gold-plated, anti-glare G15 lenses. Afterward, Baush and Lomb company bought the license rights of this product and started to produce a collection under the name Ray-Ban. When the collection was completed, in 1937, the plastic Aviator model Ray-Ban went on sale for the first time. Ray-Ban, who was deemed worthy of the honor of being an attractive style indicator by the public in a short time, patented the G15 lenses in the same year and registered them as a brand name.

The first glasses consisted of two green lenses with clear lenses, an extremely light metal frame, and gold-plated. The main purpose of these unique, curved, wide glasses was to protect the eyes from the harmful effects of the sun from all angles.

By 1940, Ray-Ban was made available to air force pilots. Since then, Aviator sunglasses have become very popular in other branches of the US military as well. Especially during World War II, General Douglas MacArthur's viewing with Ray-Ban glasses during his landing on a beach in the Philippines played an important role in increasing the popularity of the brand.

The style of Ray-Ban glasses soon caught the attention of the fashion world, and Ray-Ban glasses began to be adopted as an important accessory. In 1952, the brand introduced the Wayfarer model, which would become an icon over time. Wayfarer demolished the classic metal frame model and popularized the hard plastic frame. Wayfarer, which was initially launched for male consumers, began to attract attention from women as well. The model soon became the best-selling model of the world and Ray-Ban. After this success, Ray-Ban began to be known as the leading brand in the sunglasses industry.

The 1960s were the years when Ray-Ban became even more popular. The silver-framed glasses model introduced in 1960 was only a small indicator that sheds light on what the brand will do in the future. The model even began to appear in cult films of the time. Influential actress Audrey Hepburn used the Wayfarer model in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.

On the other hand, the brand made its debut in movies such as Donny Brasco, Reservoir Dogs, and Risky Business. The most memorable of these was the Aviator model Ray-Ban used by Tom Cruise in the movie Top Gun.

The disco era of the 1970s and Dior and Yves St. Laurent's entry into the market caused Ray-Ban's popularity to decline somewhat. By the mid-70s, Ray-Ban introduced its period-inspired "disco" glasses. However, he did not fully achieve the popularity he wanted. Ray-Ban has found its place in the fashion scene and the world of celebrities as well as on the big screen. Brad Pitt, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Nicole Ritchie, Sienna Miller, Natalie Portman, Demi Moore, and many more celebrities whose names we cannot count were among the most loyal users of the brand.

It is possible to add famous music groups and musicians to the list. Madonna, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie, who love the spirit of rock and roll, are among the celebrities who often appear with Ray-Ban. Names such as Michael Jackson, Brandon Flowers, Elvis Costello, Ricky Wilson, and Bobby Gillespie are some of the celebrities who prefer Ray-Ban. Music has such an important place for the Ray-Ban brand that the revived and popular Wayfarer model, with changes made with some colorful touches, is as if decided in advance at important music festivals such as Glastonbury and V Festival.

The Blues Brothers movie shot in 1982 brought the Ray-Ban brand back to the agenda. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd kept Ray-Bans out of their eyes for nearly the entire movie. The brand signed a $50,000 deal for other movies and TV shows that same year. Between 1982 and 1987, Ray-Ban starred in 60 movies and television shows. The 1990s were the years when Ray-Ban's popularity began to decline again. By 1999, the iconic brand Ray-Ban was sold by Bausch & Lomb to the Italian Luxottica Group.

In 2007, Ray-Ban redesigned the Wayfarer model. It is now possible to find the model in red, navy blue, white, and turquoise color options. In addition, two-color frames are also among the new designs. 2008 was a festive year for Ray-Ban. Taking part in famous music festivals, the brand has created areas to host DJ booths in the designated areas. In these special areas called “Ray-Ban Rooms”, various DJ performances from the latest trends to old icons were exhibited. The brand also used these rooms as a showcase where it could showcase its new products. At the most recent Isle of Wight Festival, a celebrity audience, including Fearne Cotton, Nick Grimshaw, Jameela Jamil, Tim Burgess, Samantha Morton, The Prodigy, McFly, The Pixies, and Razorlight, hosted a large number of Ray- He showed up in the banned room.

Another aspect that adds value to Ray-Ban's brand is its constant innovation while remaining loyal to its original, retro models. Finally, Ray-Ban introduced the Clubmaster model, which you can see on many celebrities, with a colored frame on the top. This model has been featured in major fashion magazines such as Elle as "one of the great models you should check out". The use of high-quality materials and innovative technologies is among the topics that do not fall on Ray-Ban's agenda, and the brand uses a special material in its products. In order to guarantee quality and durability, the products produced go through numerous test processes. Polarized lenses that protect the structure of the eye while allowing sharp vision are another of the other technical features Ray-Ban is proud of. Its carbon fiber construction makes Ray-Ban light, strong, durable, flexible, and comfortable enough to wear all day. Each glass has 100 percent UV protection.

As a result, although Ray-Ban has come a long way since 1937, it is still on the move and following trends. So much so that this structure constitutes one of the core principles of the brand. Although the brand lost its popularity from time to time over the years, it was never forgotten. Ray-Ban still has consumers; one of the first choices of the leading names in fashion, cinema, and music.

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