The History Of Carrera Eyewear
VINTAGE CARRERA CHEAT SHEET
| Founder | Wilhelm Anger |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Logo | The Italic C with racing stripes. |
| All About | Lightweight and comfortable frames. |
| Look Out For | Porsche Design by collaborations that started off in 1977 and continued throughout the 1980s. |
DESIGNED TO THRILL
Carrera is, without doubt, one of the largest and most popular frame manufacturers of all time. Founded by Wilhelm Anger in 1956 as primarily a sports googles company he chose the name Carrera after the infamous and legendary Carrera Pan-American sports car race. That Carrera is known today for their plastic frames more than anything else can be traced back to the roots of Anger, who in 1946 worked for a smaller plastics company that was starting to produce glasses from the material at a time when this was very much in its infancy.
OPTYL THE WONDER MATERIAL
In 1964, in a truly pioneering move, Anger patented Optyl®, a new form of resin which was hypoallergenic, extremely durable, and 20% lighter than all other plastics used in the sunglasses industry. This resin provided permanent elasticity and dimensional stability, meaning it would adapt to the wearer’s face with a “memory effect”. The impact this material had on the industry is felt to this day, with 90% of all high-end sunglasses manufactured with the Optyl material.
With their close proximity to the Alps, Carrera began to produce innovative ski goggles and helmets. Simultaneously, the Austrian Udo Proksch designed VIENNALINE sunglasses were released which became an instant hit across the world with their elegant statement designs. In 1966, the company expanded into the licensing business and began manufacturing sunglasses for fashion brands. In fact, they purchased the rights to Christian Dior eyewear in the 60s and changed the vintage shades game forever.
Vintage Carrera Sunjet 90s Sunglasses
5239 49
£49
Stunning Italian Made Vintage Carrera Small Aviator Sunglasses
Made in the early 90s these classic aviator sunglasses feature an all black frame with a strong gold brow bar and nose bridge. As always these are unworn deadstock, you will never find retro or reproduction frames on edandsarna.com.
GLOBAL TAKEOVER
In 1974 Anger moved the company headquarters to Traun in Austria where they doubled down on sports eyewear and frames and in 1977 began their legendary collaboration with Ferdinand Porsche. Over the 1980s Carrera sunglasses were seen at almost every major sporting event from the America's cup to the Winter Olympics.
Whilst they dominated the sports industry they also increased the number of brands that they were producing under license throughout this period to include Hugo Boss, Movado and Boeing.
Some of the most iconic frames worn in movies and TV over this period were produced by Carrera including the frames worn by Al Pacino in Scarface to Carrera 5512 as worn by Don Johnson in Miami Vice.
The phenomenal enduring success of Carrera eyewear comes down to the sporty and futuristic designs they release. The development of Optyl meant that a lot of the early Carrera designs were able to create forms and shapes that had never been seen before. With designs taking inspiration from the demands placed upon athletes they firmly cemented the view that glasses can be more than just vision and sunglasses more than just protection.
