Ray-Ban
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Eyewear |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Founder | Bausch & Lomb |
| Headquarters | Rochester, New York , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Sunglasses, Eyeglasses |
| Parent | Luxottica Group |
Ray-Ban stands as a prestigious eyewear label established in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. Renowned chiefly for its signature Wayfarer and Aviator sunglasses, the brand was purchased in 1999 by the Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group for $640 million.
History
The origins trace back to 1929 when US Army Air Corps Colonel John A. Macready partnered with Bausch & Lomb in Rochester, New York, to create sunglasses tailored for aviators that minimized glare and enhanced visibility for pilots. The initial 1936 model, named "Anti-Glare," incorporated plastic frames and green-tinted lenses engineered to block ultraviolet and infrared rays—giving rise to the "Ray-Ban" designation. By 1938, impact-resistant lenses were introduced, followed a year later by the patented metal-framed Ray-Ban Aviator. These glasses featured Kalichrome lenses designed to improve visual sharpness by filtering blue light, particularly useful in foggy environments.
In 2025, Ray-Ban appointed ASAP Rocky as its inaugural creative director, signaling a strategic initiative to boost brand relevance and expand market presence through celebrity-driven leadership.
Product lines
Among Ray-Ban’s best-known sunglasses are the Wayfarer, Erika, and Aviator ranges. The 1950s saw the debut of the Echelon (also called Caravan), characterized by its more angular frame design, followed by the Olympian I and II models in 1965, which gained iconic status after featuring in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Limited editions such as The General (1987), inspired by WWII aviator eyewear worn by General Douglas MacArthur, further underscore Ray-Ban’s rich heritage. The 1980s introduced the Clubmaster, a browline frame that ranked as the decade’s third most popular style after the Wayfarer and Aviator.
In 2007, Luxottica launched Ray-Ban Youth, a prescription eyewear collection aimed at children aged eight to twelve, incorporating hypoallergenic titanium frames modeled after adult designs. The Ray-Ban Tech series arrived in 2009, offering robust yet lightweight sunglasses equipped with polarized polycarbonate or crystal lenses, including the Carbon Fibre variants.
Customization options are available on Ray-Ban’s website for many of their flagship styles, enabling customers to choose frame colors, lens types, and personalized engravings. In 2021, Ray-Ban ventured into smart eyewear with Ray-Ban Stories, developed in collaboration with Facebook Reality Labs. These glasses integrate built-in cameras and Bluetooth-enabled earphones, aligning with emerging trends in wearable technology while also prompting discussions about privacy.
Counterfeits
As with many luxury brands, Ray-Ban contends with widespread counterfeit issues. Advertisements promoting Ray-Bans at suspiciously low prices frequently redirect consumers to fraudulent websites vending imitation products. Research reveals that one out of every four Facebook ads for discounted luxury goods leads users to counterfeit sellers. International law enforcement often intercepts fake Ray-Bans; for instance, Thai officials seized nearly 900,000 counterfeit sunglasses—including Ray-Bans and Oakleys (another brand under Luxottica)—in 2016. These counterfeiters employ misleading tags and labels designed to simulate genuine items.
To address these challenges, Luxottica has adopted various anti-counterfeiting measures such as converting the Indian Ray-Ban website into an official e-commerce portal and initiating legal proceedings against online counterfeit vendors. Additionally, in 2016 Luxottica implemented a "Minimum Advertised Price (MAP)" policy within Ray-Ban wholesale agreements to restrict excessive discount advertising and prevent activities that might undermine brand value.