The Sunglasses That Are Changing the Face of Pop Culture

How eccentric French designer Jérôme Mage transformed his LA brand, Jacques Marie Mage, into the most coveted and cultish name in sunglasses—and created the go-to shades for the celebrity class.

- BY SAMUEL HINE

WHEN I LEFT my Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses in the back of a cab on a late night out in 2022, the loss hit hard. The rounded tortoiseshell Akira frames were perfect, with dusky purple lenses and an elegant proportion inspired—like many JMM designs are—by a guy who looked iconic in sunglasses (in this case, Kurosawa).

They were also incredibly expensive. Jacques Marie Mage (or JMM to fans), founded by an eccentric French expat named Jérôme Mage in 2014, makes eyewear that is extravagant in every way. Prices for the frames range from around $800 to north of $2,000, and they feel like it: JMMs are constructed with thick, glossy acetate or sleek beta titanium, colorful lenses, and flashy hardware, giving them a deeply satisfying heft. You're paying for the quality but also for the exclusivity. Each drop is limited to small quantities and never reissued. Which is cool when you're wearing them, but a bit maddening when you lose them. Even if I could afford to replace my pair, I never saw another Akira again.

Unlike, say, wristwatches, sunglasses aren't typically considered a particularly rarefied good. Unless you're fond of fly fishing, most of us don’t keep our sunglasses attached to our person, which means we regard our shades as easy come, easy go. For years, innovations in the eyewear space have been focused on the disposable end of the market, with startups like Goodr dining out on $25 frames that you won't mourn when you sit on them (not because the plastic frames won't break, but because the idea is to stock up on several pairs for such contingencies). Even the classics—Wayfarers, Eye Jackets—feel on some level like they come with a time limit, and a replica can be easily sourced. Jacques Marie Mage, on the other hand, proposes that sunglasses should be regarded more like luxury heirlooms.