Milton Glaser has designed sunglasses for Classic Specs

Renowned graphic designer Milton Glaser has made his first move into product design, creating two sets of sunglasses for New York-based brand Classic Specs. The designs, named Boldo and Foldo, both have “expressive shields” on the sides of the lenses. On Foldo these are part of the oval shape, and allow the glasses to fold completely flat; while on Boldo they accentuate the existing oval shape.

Glaser says of the design process: “If you are inventive, so-called, or creative, so-called, what you do is try to transgress and break through what has been already achieved, and that involves risk because you’re doing something that people don’t yet understand.”

“The way you work theoretically as a designer is you have a goal, and then you have to figure out the way to arrive at that goal. I don’t do that. I let the path emerge first and follow where it leads me.”

In a video campaign for the glasses, he describes the ideas behind their simple, matte black design: “The use of colour actually intruded on the novelty of the fold. The colour led you in one direction where you weren’t as attentive to what the major change was, so by neutralising the colour now you’re more conscious of the unique character of this.

“I say that the search for the miraculous is the best part of being in the creative arts. What you really want is not functionally ‘oh that works’, you want something where somebody looks at it and says ‘wow’.”

The glasses start at $150 retail price.