RICHARD HELL Signature Spex

Shady Spex’s latest design is a collaboration with Richard Hell to recreate the influential NYC musician/writer's iconic 1970s sunglasses. You’ll recognize these from Hell’s ground-zero punk innovations on the cover of the “Blank Generation” single, the back cover of the Blank Generation LP, and in hundreds of canonical photographs of The Voidoids, The Heartbreakers, Television, and beyond. The artist himself has worked with Shady Spex for two years tweaking all details of the frames to develop the most exact re-creation possible of his original, signature shades. The Richard Hell Spex are our first-ever deluxe edition, with sturdy top-quality acetate frames that are plant-based and hypoallergenic, while also suitably malleable for prescription-lens installation. This striking design features premium polarized lenses, our signature slithering snake laser etched on one lens, and has “Richard Hell” and “Shady Spex” embossed on the inside temples. They arrive in a black leatherette hard case emblazoned with the “Shady Spex” logo along with a black suede-touch microfiber cleaning cloth sporting the “Richard Hell” logo. 

Available in three variations:

* Blank Generation - Dark Tortoise frames with Purple lenses (While the exposure of some classic Richard Hell photographs may lead you to believe Hell’s iconic '70s sunglasses were black on black, the iconic pair you've seen is actually this regal color combination!)

* Downtown At Dawn - Black frames with Black lenses 

* New Pleasure - Crystal frames with G15 (Green/Gray) lenses

- Medium fit: 46mm wide lens, 135 frame width, 136 temple length

** Returns accepted up to 7 days after receipt of the frames. Must include everything - case, cloth, plastic sleeves, frames in unworn condition. Customer pays for shipping.

All photos by Sara Stadtmiller, minus the 1970s shot of Richard by Roberta Bayley