It Took a Stylish Racing Team to Create the Ultimate All-Purpose Driving Sunglasses
If anyone could design a pair of sunglasses that channel the energy of McQueen, Ayrton Senna, or even racing legend Tetsu Ikuzawa, it’s Japan’s motorsport whisperers at Team Ikuzawa and Native Sons, the cult eyewear label that treats frames like sculpture.
Together, they’ve built a limited-edition pair of shades that look just as good pulling into pit lane as they do navigating a Monday morning commute.
With the mission of creating the best driving glasses that you can actually wear in real life, Team Ikuzawa and Native Sons birthed the “Tetsu” frames. If you’ve ever watched Rush, Senna, Le Mans, or any of those grainy racing movies, you’ll recognize the aesthetic. It’s vintage motorsport meets modern function, a pair of glasses that feel like slowly stepping out of a race-winning Porsche in golden hour.
Each pair of “Tetsu” frames is handmade in Fukui, Japan, using custom Takiron acetates, gold- or silver-plated titanium, and Shima Optics lenses, fine materials that can actually take a bit of a beating.
They’ve got straight temples to fit under a helmet (if that’s your thing), anti-reflective and hard coatings for better visibility, and a range of tints to help you actually read the road.
The campaign commemorating their debut features British racer-designer Nick Ashley, equal parts petrolhead and fashion obsessive, shot by acclaimed fashion photographer Frederike Helwig. There’s also a cameo from the Tuthill Porsche 911K, a $1.1M carbon-bodied grail that revs to 11,000 rpm, alongside a few well-placed bikes and just the right amount of cinematic cool.
Team Ikuzawa has long been folding both automotive futurism and nostalgia into its creative projects, from the superhero-themed collab with Chris Labrooy to that stunning 904 created with Daniel Arsham. These Native Sons sunglasses, available July 11 via Team Ikuzawa’s official site, continue the tradition with the right frames to match.
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