Ray-Ban, ‘Future Icons’7 Images
On September 9, Ray-Ban will bring its four-part ‘Future Icons’ series to a raucous finale with the help of Beth McCarthy, CATTY, and DJ collective BORN N BREAD.
The event will take place at House of Koko, a private member’s club over four floors and a maze of sixteen different spaces, behind the iconic Koko in Camden, which, like Ray-Ban itself, has played an outsized role in musical culture. While the venue’s name has changed multiple times over the years, the building has played host to an exhaustive list of legends, including the Rolling Stones, the Clash, Prince, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, among others.
This history makes it the perfect setting for ‘Future Icons’, a series which has been shining a spotlight on some of the most exciting emerging artists of today. Previous installments have featured Nigerian popstar and rapper Deto Black, songwriter Ellie Dixon and Nippa, a singer from Tottenham who’s been making waves with his soulful R&B, and many more. As part of the series, Ray-Ban also staged Camp Koko, a five-day retreat in the Somerset countryside with guests where Dylan Mulvaney, Joe Locke, Jessica Brown Findlay, Layton Williams, and Phoenix Brown attended an exclusive lunch.
Future Icons is strictly invitation-only and the venue has a capacity of just 100 people, but there is a way to get through the doors. Just like you might message a promoter friend asking “please can I get guesties tonight??”, all you have to do is text the Ray-Ban Hotline on WhatsApp at +44 7888 862800 (but spots are limited – so do it now!).
Every event in the series has been focused on one of Ray-Ban’s classic designs, with the final show to be themed around its oldest, the Aviator, and “timeless genres redefined”. In keeping with this idea, the line-up is the most rock’n’roll and guitar-heavy yet. After going viral on TikTok in 2020, Beth McCarthy has been building a dedicated fanbase with her witty lyrics and wildly catchy pop-punk. Many of her songs concern being queer, including “Good Bi”, which mocks some of the reductive cliches that people throw at bisexual women: “they’ll say I’m greedy, a little too needy, but is it a crime that I like everybody?” she sings. Her latest single, “Treat Me Like a Rockstar”, is scuzzier and heavier, sounding as much like 1980s hard rock as Avril Lavigne or Olivia Rodrigo. Her live performance is sure to be a riot.
Hailing from the Welsh countryside, supporting act CATTY plays an electrifying mixture of glam-rock, punk and anthemic pop – recent singles “Joyride” and “Prized Possession”, sounds a little like Lady Gaga at her angstier, more gothic moments, but they’re a lot more raw. She’s been playing sold-out shows in London to rave reviews, and has even supported Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks at Hyde Park BTS. Like Beth McCarthy, her lyrics are frank and confessional, and often rooted in her queer identity. In a year’s time, having seen her at a venue as intimate as House of Koko could well be something to brag about.
Born N Bread, made up of Olivia M, Love Lawson and Chika O, is one of London’s most respected, sought-after and fun DJ collectives. With a sonic landscape rooted in the city’s African and Caribbean diaspora, they play an eclectic mixture of hip hop, soul, trap, grime, dancehall, UK garage, funky house, and afrobeat. As well as hosting a regular show on NTS – no doubt the cloutiest radio station in Britain – they have seemingly DJ’d the afterparty of every major London film premiere of the last few years.
While creating something new with their influences, all of these artists draw inspiration from classic 20th century genres, whether that’s punk and rock or R&B and soul. This makes them an ideal fit for an evening celebrating the Aviator, which is Ray-Ban’s original and arguably most iconic design (although the Wayfarer might have something to say about that…) As the name suggests, the Aviator was developed in the 1930s for pilots to wear while flying – the large lenses, later celebrated as a stylistic feature, were originally designed to protect their eyes from the glare of the sun.
After being made available to the public, the Aviator became an icon of American culture in its own right, indelibly associated with figures like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop and Tom Cruise (sales shot through the roof after the release of Cruise’s Top Gun in 1986.) The Aviator’s relevance has never faded, as new generations have continued to embrace the design and Ray-Ban has experimented with new colours and subtle design features, all the while respecting the classic silhouette. The brand has since launched two iterations of the Aviator collection: the Aviator Max, which has a bolder frame, and the Explorer, which has a more angular shape.
Stirking a balance between legacy and innovation is at the heart of what Ray-Ban does today. For a brand which started making what was essentially a technical product, it makes sense that Ray-Ban is at the cutting-edge of wearable tech. The Ray-Ban META glasses offer a truly sci-fi range of features: you take high-quality photos or videos of what you’re seeing, as you’re seeing it; call your friends and allow them to peer out from your own viewpoint, and deliver instructions to an AI assistant – all this while maintaining the brand’s characteristic style.
As it has done throughout its history, Ray-Ban is still forging close connections with the major cultural figures of the period: A$AP Rocky, announced as its creative director earlier this year, has recently launched his second range, the Wayfarer Puffer collection, which updates a classic design with vivid colours, sleek elegance and touches of hip-hop culture. While Ray-Ban’s place in history is undeniable, it has its gazed fixed firmly towards the future.
