Following its popular ASICS collaboration, Ice Studios is venturing into eyewear together with Port Tanger. And, as you might expect from a link-up between the two, the resulting sunglasses are a long way from your standard black wayfarers.
"The reason the brand stuck out to me is because they go for weird-shaped glasses. With Port Tanger, you don't know what you're going to get once you throw them on," Renell Medrano, co-founder of Ice Studios, tells Highsnobiety via a phone call. "I remember walking into a store and these Port Tanger glasses looked obnoxious; but the minute I threw them on, I was like, 'whoa, I need these.'"
Inspired by Renell Medrano's Dominican heritage and childhood memories, the collection is releasing on September 15 via the Highsnobiety Shop. It consists of fresh colorways of Port Tanger's popular Mektoub model, the first pair of sunglasses that Medrano ever bought from the brand, and a new style designed by the multi-hyphenate creative, named Nunny.
"I named them after my mom's nickname because, honestly, my mom was a fly girl back in the day. She had four kids and we were in designer clothes since we were little," says Medrano. "She had the most amazing style, so I said why not just make these glasses a tribute to her? She's the reason why I like to dress up and put things together the way I do."
The large-framed glasses come with a sharp silhouette that honors the styles that the Ice Studios co-founder grew up seeing on the likes of Lil' Kim, Kelis, and Eve. These glasses had, "obnoxiously big shapes, and I've always been drawn to that," says Medrano.
Putting her own spin on those gloriously OTT, oversized styles, the Nunny comes in a bold spectrum of colors — as do the collaborative Mektoud models.
All of the colorways can be seen in a lookbook shot by Medrano in her hometown of New York. Being a creative with many vices and a highly-accomplished photographer, she shoots all of her own campaigns for Ice Studios.
"I feel like as a New Yorker, we don't get stuck in a box. We don't tend to just do one thing," says Medrano. "Fashion is a big thing in New York, we are one of the flyest cities. I feel like designing is in my DNA. I wouldn't call myself a designer, I just really enjoy making things."
Testament to this, Ice Studios' is an umbrella for many things. As well as being a brand, creating pieces like the fashion girlies' favorite cargo skirt, it's an agency that represents a community of creatives across New York and London.
"I wanted to build a platform where I could just invite the homies and the ones that are not in the limelight," says Medrano. "A lot of the girls that I've shot for Ice Studios, they've never even modeled before and the minute I shoot them, a lot of people are requesting to shoot with them."
This humblebrag shows the pull that Medrano has in the fashion industry. Through the success of Ice Studios and her own impressive body of work, Renell Medrano is one of New York fashion's buzziest names.
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