An iconic piece of luxury eyewear returns to shelves today.
Pharrell has reintroduced the original Millionaire sunglasses, which he co-designed with Nigo in 2004, as part of Louis Vuitton’s western-themed Fall/Winter 2024 collection. It marks the 20th anniversary of their debut.
The Millionaires and their large round frames take clear inspiration from a classic pair of aviators. What sets them apart are the two gold bars that run along the top of the frames and across the temples. Their hinges reference LV’s trunks. Their striking appearance made them a hit that appealed to a more broad audience than LV’s typical luxury crowd at the time. They are regarded by many as one of most important luxury eyewear designs ever.
Whether you are seeing these shades for the first time or just want a quick refresher before you hit an LV store to cop a pair this weekend, check out the history of the Millionaires below.
The Original LV Millionaires Release
When: 2004 and 2007
Yes, Pharrell has been the creative director of Louis Vuitton Men’s since February 2023. But he was designing for the Parisian fashion house decades prior. Then-creative director of LV Men’s, Marc Jacobs, tapped Pharrell and his longtime friend and collaborator Nigo to work on a special capsule of eyewear in 2004. The most notable design that came from that project was the Millionaire that retailed for $1,200. At the time, Pharrell described the aviator-inspired look as “one part Tony Montana, one part Notorious B.I.G.”
The shades were offered in a variety of colors ranging from classic black to more vibrant options such as red acetate. All of them featured their signature monogram-covered gold trim. The bright colors, and the shades’ ties to two of the biggest names in streetwear, made them a crossover sensation far beyond LV’s typical luxury crowd. They were such a hit that LV even released a second round of colorways, including lilac purple and light blue, in 2007. Their popularity with a broader audience was further aided by support of style icons like Rihanna and Kanye West. The latter received his pair from his mother, Dr. Donda West, per a recommendation given to her from Don C. In her 2007 book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar, she wrote: “I surprised Kanye that year with those glasses. I almost broke the bank to do it, but his reaction when I handed him those Millionaire glasses was worth it.”
Rick Ross even infamously wore a bootleg pair of Millionaires on the cover of XXL in 2009.
While they are harder to come by these days, you will still see original pairs listed for thousands on the resell market. It would take many years before we saw luxury brands fully embrace streetwear and hip-hop, but Jacobs’ work with Pharrell and Nigo in the 2000s was trailblazing. The Millionaires are a perfect way to encapsulate that.
Virgil Abloh Releases His Own Millionaires
When: 2019
Pharrell and Nigo’s Millionaires were so influential that Virgil Abloh made sure to reference them when he took the role as creative director of LV Men’s in 2018. Dubbed the Millionaire 1.1, Abloh’s $800 interpretation of the iconic frames debuted as part of his first collection in 2019.
The main difference was the shape. Abloh abandoned the circular aviator style in favor of a square-shaped frame with sharper edges. The main callback to the original design was the use of the two gold bars along the frames and temples. The trunk-inspired hinges also remained.
The Millionaire 1.1 became a signature inline offering throughout Abloh’s tenure with the brand thus was much easier to acquire than its predecessor. It is still being offered in fresh new colorways to this day that range from $855 to $960.
The Original LV Millionaires Return
When: 2024
We’re happy to see the Millionaires’ legacy live on with a new chapter. Two decades after making history with Nigo by bringing the sunglasses to the market, Pharrell is selling the style with Louis Vuitton once again.
We got our first glimpse at their return during the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2024 show in January. Eight months later, on Aug. 8, they are finally available to purchase. Black and tortoise acetate variations are both for sale that each feature their signature gold trim. The latter pair’s hinges are turquoise, a sacred stone in Native American culture, to align with the collection’s Western theme. In addition to the bringback, Pharrell has also designed the 3.0 Millionaire. The sleeker riff on the original is made of carbon fiber, features a single Damier-engraved silver bar, and retails for $2,100.
If you’re someone finally trying to secure your own pair so many years later, a collector looking for a signature piece of Pharrell’s tenure at LV to hold onto, or just looking for a premium pair of sunglasses to add to your rotation, the 2024 re-release of the Millionaires will run you $780. Not bad to own a piece of history.
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