State Optical Co., a Chicago-based eyewear brand, has created limited-edition sunglasses in partnership with three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Maxwell.
The model is named the Reunion, a song on his debut album “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite,” released in 1996.
“I called the first pair Reunion because the world has been divided in so many ways: digital, geopolitical, gender discrimination, you name it, it’s happening, and it has to stop. Reunion is a promise, if not a guarantee, that we can come back together as the closing of the song clearly says, ‘We’re back together’,” the singer said.
The sunglasses, which were created virtually by Maxwell in partnership with State’s designer Nico Roseillier, are inspired by Maxwell’s modern soul sound. “We wanted to make something classic and timeless connected to songs I have written,” Maxwell said.
State x Maxwell sunglasses were created in the company’s Chicago factory and will be available in two colorways: blue smoke with brown gradient lenses and a sandblasted matte black with blue gradient lenses. Each pair will be packaged with a card sharing a personal message from Maxwell, as well as a custom cleaning cloth.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Vision Council’s Open Your Eyes Scholarship (O-YES), which provides tuition, internships and mentorship to high school seniors in Black and brown communities who aspire to become opticians. Maxwell is also joining the O-YES board.