Sure, we could (and do) talk endlessly about the clothes we love, but for our column Line Item, we ask some of our favorite designers to tell us what they think about the best pieces from their newest collections. Today, surfer Derek Dunfee tell us about the Garageland sunglasses, his collaboration with CRAP eyewear.
I grew up in San Diego, where my dad taught my brother and I to surf when we were real young, and I've surfed everyday since. Over time, the sun and ocean glare can really fuck up your eyes, so one of the most important things I need from my sunglasses is polarized lenses. Like most surfers or anyone who spends a lot of time outside, I have bad pterygiums or Surfer's Eye in both of my eyes. A pterygium causes a pink growth to develop on the eyeball, so it looks like your always stoned. Also you need a good stylish pair of sunglasses, if you wanna impress all the cuties at the beach.
I spent a lot of time leading up to this project looking at other sunglasses. I took down notes and photos of the styles I liked. After a year of emails and research, Peter Nussbaum from CRAP sent me the first sample pair of The Garageland. The classic fit and style of the frame was perfect. Surfing is a very independent sport, you can wear and ride whatever you want. That means some people wear neon bright wetsuits and brightly colored boards, and others wear all black suits and ride surfboards with no color. All of my wetsuits are black, no color or logos, and most of my surfboards don’t have any color. Peter and I agreed that a gloss black frame with polarized lens—a first for CRAP—would make the pair a timeless hit with surfers and beach lovers alike.