The capsule collection honors the 50th Anniversary of DVF's wrap dress.
Diane von Furstenberg has been wearing sunglasses since she was 11 years old. She appreciated the practical sun protection, yes, but more than that, she reached for them to feel glamorous. “Whenever I wanted to go outside, I always wore sunglasses because it made me feel grown up,” she says. “It’s the incognito thing. I like bold glasses.”
For the 50th anniversary of von Furstenberg’s iconic wrap dress—a garment that symbolizes power, independence, and boldness for generations of women—it only felt right to celebrate with a collection that embodies all the same attributes. And so, with a shared vision, she launched a sunglasses capsule collection with luxury eyewear brand Luca Gnecchi Ruscone.
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In what is their first time working together, von Furstenberg and Ruscone released three never-before-seen versions of L.G.R’s Raffaello sunglasses on May 15.
“I wanted to celebrate Diane and her strength [and] independence with this model…it’s a bold model that gives women a strong look,” Ruscone says. “For me, the wrap dress, it’s a symbol of freedom. It’s the start of something.”
The glasses feature an exclusive tortoiseshell pattern and come in three color combinations: havana green with bottle green lenses, havana pink with violet, and havana black with green, each with gold engravings of the L.G.R. and DVF collaboration logo and #Wrap50. The shades are housed in a black leather case with an adjustable strap that can be worn over the shoulder or as a crossbody, along with a box emblazoned with DVF’s 50th-anniversary crossword puzzle print.
Von Furstenberg, who has been wearing the Raffaello frames “for a long time,” makes special note of the glasses’ “incredible quality,” which can be credited to Ruscone's careful, handmade process. He explains the glasses are built one at a time by Italian artisans.
Ruscone says the collection all started in Venice. He recalls their first meeting having the backdrop of the resounding “ding, dong” of bells and woosh of gondolas. He and von Furstenberg, who is friends with Ruscone's mother, spent the afternoon looking at materials, lenses, drawings, and designs. He fondly shares that their collaboration wasn’t motivated by business, but passion for their work; their shared appreciation for Italian artistry and a style ethos that blends past influences with forward-thinking designs.
“It’s an Italian affair…It was a salute. It was a salute to his generation. He’s saluting my generation,” von Furstenberg agrees. “It was a beautiful encounter, and we want everyone to share the encounter with the glasses.”
The DVF x L.G.R. collection retails for $440 per pair and is available to shop at DVF boutiques in New York, Belgium, and Azerbaijan and on DVF.com globally.