Through the Lens: How One Artist Reimagines Ray-Ban (Clubmasters) as Cultural Time Capsules
- Kemba Mark
- Aug 8, 2025
- 2 min read
When I first slipped on a pair of Ray-Ban as a teenager, I wasn’t thinking about design heritage, branding legacy, or the weight of cultural storytelling. I was thinking about how they made me feel — like I belonged to a world that blended confidence, mystery, and edge. Over the years, that feeling didn’t fade; it sharpened.
Today, as an artist whose work moves between digital sculpture, 3D design, and narrative world-building, I’ve decided to take that lifelong connection and filter it through my own creative language. This project — a conceptual collaboration between my studio and Ray-Ban — begins with the Clubmasters, not as a product, but as a canvas.
The Persona in the Frame.
In my art, there’s always him — the robed figure inspired by the Christian men of Lalibela, Ethiopia. His presence is a bridge between worlds, a visual thread that ties my work to cultural preservation and historical continuity. In these reimagined Clubmasters, his silhouette appears subtly on the temple arm — small enough to be overlooked by the unobservant, yet instantly recognizable to those who know the story.
It’s more than a design flourish. It’s a statement: in an era of rapid cultural flattening, identity must be worn, carried, and seen.
The 7 Rules Applied.
My design principles — the same ones that define my art — are at the heart of this project:
Duality & Contrast – The Clubmasters already embody duality: acetate and metal, retro and modern. My addition of the persona figure deepens that tension.
Culture as a Foundation – The figure references African heritage, now embedded in a globally recognized fashion staple.
Noise = Reality – The figure isn’t polished to perfection; it bears subtle texture, grounding the sleek glasses in lived reality.
Darkness as a Persona – The deep frame tones play against golden highlights, holding presence rather than emptiness.
Signs of Transition – The character on the frame is caught mid-step, echoing the in-between moments I value.
Hyper-Realism Meets Abstraction – The figure is physically modeled in high detail, yet placed in a minimal, symbolic context.
Cinematic Immersion – Wearing them should feel like inhabiting a scene, not just an accessory, but a role.
The Timing
This imagined collaboration comes at a moment when Ray-Ban itself is being redefined under the creative direction of A$AP Rocky, whose own work sits at the crossroads of street culture, luxury, and art. It’s not about chasing a trend — it’s about speaking in the same visual language of reimagining icons.
For me, this isn’t just a product. It’s an autobiographical loop: the boy who wanted the glasses, the man who now uses them as a canvas, the artist who insists that personal and cultural narratives can live in even the smallest design details.
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