What is it about sunglasses that makes them such perfect movie props? A simple detail can reveal so much about a character, adding to their stories and making them so much more memorable. Not only that, but for those films acquire cult status, their protagonists’ sunglasses can become iconic props that fans can’t wait to wear to embody the qualities of their favorite fictional heroes. Think of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Ansi Classics in Terminator, Eddie Murphy’s 5621s in Beverly Hills Cop, or even Tony Stark’s DITA Flight 006 in the recently released Avengers films. So many fictional sunglasses made history, and we’ve listed 5 of the most iconic ones! Find them all below in no particular order and prepare to get nostalgic!
1. Top Gun – The Ray-Ban Aviator
We had to start with Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) Ray-Ban Aviators in Top Gun (1986)! The film revolves around the titular “Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School,” an elite program where the best US pilots train to defeat big threats to the country. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a new entry in the program, immediately distinguishes himself for his smug attitude and a certain tendency to disregard the rules, together with his radar Intercept Officer / best friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards). Needless to say, Maverick makes many enemies at Top Gun, including fellow pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), on top of falling for one of his flight instructors (Kelly McGillis). But when the time comes to go on an actual mission, the group’s dynamic change, and Maverick eventually learns how to work in a team.
Maverick’s Aviator glasses, with their wire-rimmed frames and teardrop-shaped lenses, were originally designed to shield Air Force pilots from the sun’s glare at great heights, which make them an even more appropriate choice for our hero, who also wore them again in the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. Not only did Tom Cruise wearing them save Ray-Ban from bankruptcy, when the first film was released, but Aviators are still Ray-Ban’s most popular sunglasses style to this day, as the brand has remained a leading luxury eyewear provider, as evident in retailer LensCrafters’ selection of eyeglasses. Cruise has worn Ray-Bans in other films, most famously in Risky Business, but one thing’s for sure: no Ray-Bans will make you feel the “need for speed” like Top Gun‘s Aviator!
2. Breakfast at Tiffany’s – The Oliver Goldsmith Manhattan
Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly in Blake Edwards’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) is one of the most recognizable and beloved characters to ever graze our screens – some even believe she changed the world. This 1960s classic has a huge following that goes beyond generations, with new audiences discovering the movie years after its release and still finding so much to love about the character. It’s only natural that fans would try to replicate her very unique look, which includes Oliver Goldsmith’s iconic Manhattan sunglasses.
Based on Truman Capote’s novel of the same name, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is the story of a young woman (Hepburn) who lives in New York City. One day, a young man (George Peppard’s Paul Varjak) moves into her apartment building, and even though he’s with an older, wealthy woman, she becomes interested in him. Soon, a friendship of sorts starts to develop between Holly and George, even though its exact nature is hard to pinpoint. Our two leads are very different people: George is a struggling writer and Holly is a naïve, eccentric socialite whose entire existence is built around the character she created for herself, born out of her obsession with the Upper East Side and the excesses that come with it.
Underneath the Holly Golightly persona lies someone who came from humble beginnings, but our protagonist dresses the part so well that she perfectly fits into the Upper East Side society. The props she wears – from her little black dress and long gloves to her classy updo and bejeweled necklace – gives an air of sophistication that helps build that persona, and the Oliver Goldsmith Manhattan sunglasses are essential to that look.
3. The Matrix – The Blinde “Stealth” 136001
Keanu Reeves is “The One” in the Matrix movies, and the Blinde “Stealth” 136001 sunglasses are among the many perks that come with his newfound hero status. But in Lilly and Lana Wachowski’s 1999 film, we first meet our protagonist when he’s the complete opposite of a hero: loner Neo (Reeves) is an ordinary person who one day happens to get a puzzling message on his computer. It comes from a woman named Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), and when Neo agrees to meet her, his entire life changes. Soon, he’s introduced to another man named Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and asked to make a choice. And so begins a journey that will make him rethink everything he knew to be true, including the concept of reality itself.
The Matrix was a revolutionary movie upon release, not only for an extremely compelling premise and a complex plot that sparked so many theories about how real our existences are, but also for the way it looks. The Wachowskis give us a sci-fi film that has plenty of well-choreographed action and video game references, but that is also surprisingly gritty and even violent. This blend of futuristic settings and monochromatic costumes has made these movies so recognizable and continues to influence and inspire us to these days. Neo’s Blinde “Stealth” 136001 sunglasses are used symbolically in the movie, as they were tweaked specifically for the films and boast particularly dark, reflective lenses. In many scenes, Neo’s eyes are fully hidden, but this only makes the scenes when he takes them off all the more meaningful and engaging, as we’re able to fully connect with a more vulnerable part of him.
4. Léon: The Professional – The Jean Paul Gaultier Junior 58
When a 12-year-old named Mathilda (a young Natalie Portman) witnesses her entire family being murdered by a corrupt DEA agent (a superb Gary Oldman), she finds the most unlikely companion in Léon (Jean Reno), a neighbor who lives down the hall. Léon, who works as a hired hitman for a mobster (Danny Aiello’s Tony), is not exactly thrilled to take her in, but the two end up learning a lot from one another. Mathilda, whose parents were neglectful and abusive, learns that not all families are like that, and finds purpose in a dangerous job that she’s actually very good at. And then there’s Léon, who’s been used to working alone for his entire life, and to learn to care for something – or someone – other than his beloved plants.
Both characters have a very distinct look in the film, subverting our expectations of what a hitman and a 12-year-old should look like. Mathilda is an incredibly fragile character who can’t wait to grow up, and who uses her clothes – and most famously, a choker – almost as a defense mechanism, to seem stronger than she is. And even though she’s still finding out who she is – after all, she’s still a child – there’s a certain air of rebellion and even danger that comes across from her whole persona. And then there’s Léon, on whose face the small, round sunglasses with transparent frames he wears – the Jean Paul Gaultier Junior 58 – look comically small. Jean Reno’s character is a mix of the brutal nature of the hitman and childlike wonder, and it’s not by chance that, at some point in the film, Mathilda happens to borrow and wear those glasses too.
5. Barbie – The Saint Laurent 466 001
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was only released last year, yet Ryan Gosling’s “Ken” sunglasses have already achieved cult status. The film imagines a world where the titular dolls live on an actual island that is entirely ruled by Barbies, who are having their “best day” everyday, convinced that their mere existence helped solve the feminism problem in the real world. One day, Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) starts having strange thoughts about Death, which lead her on a journey to the Real World, accompanied by Ken (Gosling) to find out why the child who’s playing with her is sad. Needless to say, the world they find is not what they both thought it would be, which leads them both to re-evaluate their roles and ultimately changes Barbieland forever.
One of these changes, and a hilarious development in the movie, comes from Ken discovering the patriarchy and bringing it – or, at least, what he thinks it is – to Barbieland. When Ken envisages a world where the Barbies are no longer in charge, he does it by combining a series of random objects that he thinks are associated with masculinity in the Real World, from horses and watches to headbands, fanny packs, fingerless gloves, mink coats, and yes, flashy sunglasses. The Saint Laurent 466 001 are actually part of their women’s eyewear, and have have raised corner angles which are meant to celebrate a woman’s eyes and, through them, their identity.
In Barbie, Ken is so used to women governing the world that, when he tries to turn things around, he can’t help but choose feminine glasses to express his masculinity, in another cleverly subversive move from director Grega Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach. And if that wasn’t iconic enough, Gosling wearing two pairs of glasses on top of each other absolutely is.
The five films listed above all feature iconic sunglasses that make the characters who wear them so much more appealing and tell us a lot about their personalities. As more movies are released, more looks are born, and if you really think about it, you’ll find that so many fictional characters’ looks involve some kind of eyewear. Think of Taxi Driver, The Blues Brothers, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Scarface, Drive, Thelma and Louise, and many more!
