Ray-Ban introduced the Aviator sunglasses design in 1937 for U.S. Army Air Corps pilots.
The design was created by American Optical and marketed by Bausch & Lomb under the Ray-Ban name. Its teardrop-shaped lenses were intended to cover the eye while leaving room for a pilot’s cheekbones and flight equipment. The lenses also helped reduce glare at high altitude.
Ray-Ban’s Aviator became a civilian fashion item after World War II. Its association with pilots, military uniforms, Hollywood, and popular music helped turn a functional piece of equipment into one of the world’s best-known eyewear styles.
A common mix-up is treating “aviator” as a generic brand name. Aviator is a style, while Ray-Ban is the brand most closely associated with its original commercial launch. Other manufacturers now produce their own aviator-shaped sunglasses.