Ray-Ban Aviator

Ray-Ban Aviators were developed in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb at the request of the United States Army Air Corps, which needed sunglasses that would protect military pilots from high-altitude glare. The teardrop shape was specifically designed to cover the entire field of vision, including below the eye, where light reflecting off instrument panels and clouds could be blinding at altitude.

After their military adoption, Bausch & Lomb introduced a civilian version of the Aviator under the Ray-Ban brand name in 1937, marketing them to the general public as sporty, masculine eyewear. Their cultural prominence was significantly boosted when General Douglas MacArthur was photographed wearing them during World War II, and later by their appearance in films and on celebrities throughout the 20th century.

The Aviator features a thin metal frame with the distinctive teardrop-shaped lenses designed for maximum coverage, while the Wayfarer, introduced in 1956, features a thicker acetate plastic frame with a trapezoidal lens shape. The two models represent fundamentally different design philosophies: the utilitarian, military-inspired Aviator versus the mid-century modern, fashion-forward Wayfarer.

Bausch & Lomb sold the Ray-Ban brand to the Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica in 1999, and Luxottica has manufactured all Ray-Ban products since then, including the Aviator line. Production moved from the United States to Italy, and while Luxottica offers many variations of the Aviator, the classic G-15 green lens and gold frame combination remains the most iconic configuration.