INTERVIEW WITH RE-FOUNDER OF RENAULD SUNGLASSES GARETH LLEWELYN

Gareth Llewelyn is the CEO and Re-Founder of Renauld Sunglasses. A brand that completely disappeared in 1981. These iconic sunglasses were worn by Elvis Presley most famously, but also starred in the opening sequence of The Italian Job (1969). In the latest episode of the From Tailors With Love podcast, host Pete Brooker and Editor in Chief of SunglassesID Remmert Van Braam interviewed Gareth on what it was like reviving a classic iconic brand and the legalities involved with such a project. 

How did you get involved with the Renauld Sunglasses to begin with? 

GL: Basically as a side hobby I was very much into late sixties films. I’m of that age. Particular in 2013 I was watching The Italian Job again and I saw the sunglasses and decided I really want a pair of those. I started collecting Renauld sunglasses just all of them. From that period, what turned out to be 1961 to about '73. 

How did you go about collecting them? 

GL: I did it clandestinely. Effectively, it was a very odd situation. I started collecting them and putting them in drawers here. My wife didn't know I was collecting them and I was buying lots and lots of these things. And eventually I got to one of the largest collection of Renauld sunglasses in the world. I have 120 pairs now. 

Every type of every conceivable thing. And I was just looking for The Italian Job ones. Then 2019 a guy calls me from San Francisco and says 'I got a pair of these Renauld sunglasses, do you have the side skirts?' What we now call the quarter lights. I said 'no I don’t but I’ll buy them off you'. He said 'how much?' I said '500 bucks.'

I knew immediately they were worth a hell of a lot of money. I bought them and he subsequently told me he paid 20 dollars for them in a thrift shop. By that time I had quite a big website up and somebody offered me 10k for them.

What advice would you give for someone trying to relaunch an old brand? 

GL: For anyone thinking about doing this I would say don't. What happened as soon as someone offered me a lot of money for these sunglasses I knew there was a big market. The market touches on distinct emotions. What happened to me I decided this brand needed to be seen again. If I liked it then a lot of other people would. I went out to find the trademarks. Where were they? In what countries were they available, etc. The first thing I did was buy the one in the UK which was available and then in France and then I went through the very long process of buying the one in America.

Where do you go to buy trademarks? 

GL: To buy them you need to go to the patent office. There is a part called trademarks, you can go there and do a trademark search to find out if anyone has already got that trademark. And in what class. We're dealing with international class 9 which is basically goggles and spectacles. Someone had had the Renauld sunglasses brand until 2016.

But what happened with a lot of old brands they go into troll houses. People will buy them in the hope someone will swoop in and buy them off them. They let it lapse, so I just bought the trademarks. You don't own the brand however, you own the name. 

The brand takes years maybe decades to re-establish itself as a brand, rather than just a name. These are very distinct things. Once I opened Pandora’s box of Renauld we found the brand had been supported by almost every 60s star that existed. We couldn't believe how many people wore the Renauld sunglasses in the 60s. Of course the company disappeared in 1981 when it went bust. For 40 years this had been let out in the cold. 

And who manufactures the glasses now? 

GL: What we had to do, and I wouldn't recommend if you don't have deep pockets, is go out and find someone to manufacture something that’s nearly 50 years old and has bends in 3 dimensions and will need a 5 axis milling machine to make. We tired 3 companies in the UK over 6 months to try and make that pair of sunglasses. No one could do it. We had it 3D printed 3D scanned we tried everything.  

In the end I had to go to the people that make Celine and Chanel sunglasses in Italy to do it. And even then, it took 6 months to work out how to do it. 

Catch the full interview on the From Tailors With Love podcast, available on iTunes and Spotify. Hawkins & Shepherd is also a proud sponsor of the podcast and you can get an exclusive 30% discount at check out on any shirt when you click here. 

Find out more about Renauld Sunglasses and view the catalogue on their website here.