In a BBC piece on the Academy Award-winning costume and styling of Poor Things, designer Holly Waddington explains how the styling of lead Emma Stone’s character throughout the film is a reflection of the different phases in the character’s life. As a result, the film has been described as, “Age of Innocence meets surrealism meets couture” and even Victorian steampunk.

A wholly visual experience, Poor Things makes use of its vibrant and theatrical set designs in combination with bold costume choices. One of the standout pieces in the film is a pair of sunglasses Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter wears in a scene, a pair of squared, side-lensed sunglasses that unnaturally clash with her otherwise pastel outfit and Victorian-style padded shoulders.

Of course, styling and costumes in film don’t need to be otherworldly and totally unique at all times. Still, thought-out style and fashion pieces like a pair of eyeglasses or cool shades can add to a character’s beats and where they are in their narrative. Fortunately, throughout decades of cinema, we’ve been gifted with iconic eyeglasses and eyewear on the big screen. In this post, we’ll take a look at some of them and why they’re important for their respective characters.

Robert De Niro – Sam Rothstein

While eyewear may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Scorsese’s underrated mob movie, Casino, the characters’ stylings throughout the film work together to underline the lavish luxury decorating 70s Vegas.

In a previous post highlighting interesting facts from the almost two-decade-old movie, we highlighted how actor Robert De Niro had a lot of involvement in his character, Ace Rothstein, and his wardrobe. Namely, De Niro had based the glasses —one of which was a pair of Carrera 5425s —on the style of Lew Wasserman, a legendary talent agent and Universal studio head. Much like Poor Things, De Niro’s styling evolves as the film progresses, integrating more and more chaotic colours as the plot devolves into Scorsese’s typical inevitability.

Henry Cavill – Superman/Clark Kent

As Superman’s secret identity, Clark Kent spends his daily life disguising his superpowers and alien origins at his day job as a journalist. One of his most crucial tools of cover, of course, is his pair of thick glasses.

In this case, Henry Cavill’s Kent stands out as one of the more modern depictions of Superman and his disguise. To fit this narrative, Cavill’s glasses are thick-rimmed, black frames following the design of stylish eyewear brand Ray-Ban’s collection of men’s eyeglasses. Compared to his predecessors, Cavill’s Kent wears glasses that don’t adhere to the “nerd who wears thick glasses” stereotype that Christopher Reeve’s Supes relied on. The metal rivets seen on Cavill’s Kent’s eyeglasses are also a giveaway of modern Ray-Ban designs like the Wayfarer and Wayfarer Ease Optics, further lending to a more modernised take on the Man of Steel.

Laurence Fishburne – Morpheus

Another film known for its iconic eyewear — among other things — is the Wachowskis’ Matrix franchise. Aside from its well-crafted fight sequences and slow-mos, The Matrix films remain action sci-fi classics, due in part to the sleek, futuristic styling.

Namely, the film’s designers worked with custom sunglasses specially created for the sci-fi piece. According to the Chicago Tribune, the sunglasses were originally designed by Blinde Design Project’s Richard Walker and were custom-made for each character and actor in the film. This
included, of course, Morpheus’ iconic armless sunglasses. While certainly a nod to the film’s futuristic setting, the sunglasses’ unique design actually draws from the earliest eyeglass designs, which pinched onto the wearer’s nose instead of resting on their ears.

Claude Rains – The Invisible Man

Finally, going full circle to Emma Stone’s odd pair of sunglasses from Poor Things, the original Invisible Man, released in 1933, featured a unique pair of sunglasses based on genuine Victorian- period pieces, including gold, thin curled arms that keep them secure on the elusive Invisible
Man.

Despite its distinctive design, however, these types of sunglasses aren’t as commonly seen on the big screen as their regular counterparts. Years later, a similar design was seen on Johnny Depp’s Barnabas Collins in 2012’s vampire flick Dark Shadows. Another decade or so later, we see Emma Stone’s take on the sunglasses in Poor Things. Also called “railroad carriage glasses”, the design has surprisingly been copied and reiterated by many modern eyewear brands.