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Steve McQuen at Red Hot Sunglasses

Legendary actor Steve McQueen, the highest paid actor of his era, known as the ‘King of Cool’, with his ‘anti-hero’ stance. Also the famous advocate of Persol sunglasses, his legendary foldaway glasses are some of the most sought after pairs of designer sunglasses in history and are now being recreated in limited numbers by the Italian makers Persol.

McQueen is well known for his impeccable fashion sense, he is often included in people’s lists of style icons. Nobody has rocked the sunglasses, white T-shirt and chinos look so nonchalantly. Yet he was also regarded highly for his taste in more formal wear, he cleaned up so well that Rolex named their sophisticated Explorer watch after him, officially calling it the McQueen Rolex.

Off-screen, the actor was passionate about motorbike and car racing, and had a natural look that portrayed his patriotic and rebellious character, together with his no-nonsense mans man personality, made him a style icon both in his time and in ours.

McQueen excelled at taking classic American sportswear and giving it a rugged, masculine edge. Hallmarks of the actors style included Persol aviators, slim-cut tailored suits, sport coats, zip-up windbreakers, khakis, button-downs in pale colours, V-neck sweaters, and shawl-collared cardigans, as well as polo shirts. Of course, as a racing enthusiast, the iconic star was also a fan of clothing he could get down and dirty in, such as racing jackets, simple cotton T-shirts, leather jackets, gloves, boots, and denim, lots of denim.

In celebration of the iconic style made famous by McQueen, Persol, the luxury Italian sunglasses brand which he was so fond of have released an exclusive special edition collection of Steve McQueen branded folding sunglasses.

This brand new collection is limited to 10,000 handmade pieces. The updated version of the glasses goes through an additional ten production phases to the original Persols, these new enhanced versions come in acetate with neutral glass lenses and an updated folding mechanism.

This year, Persol are launching an advertising campaign, depicting photos of Steve McQueen wearing his infamous Persols. In 2006, a pair of Persol PO 714′s from McQueen’s own collection were auctioned for around $70,000.

The Steve McQueen collection is available at Red Hot Sunglasses

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