Unbelievably, Return of the Jedi marks the fortieth anniversary of its release this year. While the franchise continues to expand across a now mind-boggling Universe, with off-shoot series such as The Mandalorian picking up swathes of new fans along the way, The Return of the Jedi holds a special place in the hearts of most Star Wars fans.
There’s no shortage of Star Wars merchandise, but the collections created by the eyewear brand DIFF are of particular note, drawing on both the original movies in the franchise and the newer additions.
DIFF Eyewear Collection 2020 Celebrating the Star Wars Universe
In 2020, DIFF Eyewear launched a major new sunglasses collection in homage to A New Hope; The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Chad Dime, the creator and co-founder of the eyewear brand, recollects growing up with the movies and writing the wise words of Yoda – ‘Do. Or do not. There is no try’ – on the underside of his skateboard and surfboard to motivate and inspire him when needed.
With this range of Star Wars sunglasses, Dime got to fulfill a dream: merging his love of the movie franchise with his passion for creating stylish yet affordable frames crafted in luxury, high-grade materials. Each of the five pairs of sunglasses in this collection celebrates one of the franchise’s key characters.
The Princess Leia Organa Sunglasses
For Diff and his design team, it was important to create sunglasses that were striking yet feminine in homage to this character. To this end, the frames are comprised of thin, rose gold-colored metal, and have a hint of a cat eye shape. The maroon tint of the lenses is a deliberate choice, referencing Princess Leia’s costume worn on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back. The vintage vibe of the frames is also a hint of the 1980 release date of the first movie.
The Boba Fett Shades
The materials and colors of the Boba Fett frames were chosen to reflect this character’s armor. The designers were keen to fuse a luxe feel with an innovative mix of materials for these sunglasses to best capture the character of the bounty hunter – metal, acetate, and faux leather are all brought into play to achieve this aim.
The Darth Vader Sunglasses
A strong, standout black frame was always on the cards when it came to developing these sunglasses for the arch-villain of the original Star Wars movies, who met his (physical) end in Return of the Jedi. With an aviator shape and distinctive blocky browline, these shades incorporate matte and shiny materials to deliver a ‘different shades of darkness’ effect that makes for a perfect celebration of one of the movie world’s most famous baddies.
The R2-D2 Shades
Dime has spoken about how much fun these character’s shades were to design, with the frame’s angular shape hinting at the underlying droid inspiration. The team was keen to keep the colors authentic and used a white, blue, and silver palette for the frames to this end – which also sport R2-D2’s distinctive circuitry.
The C3P0 Sunglasses
Crafted in gold-colored metal (of course!) and inspired by the shape of this droid’s face and eyes, the round lenses of these sunglasses have a light-brown tint, while the stainless-steel frames boast intricate details directly inspired by the imminently-flappable C3PO.
The New Star Wars Collection from DIFF
The success of DIFF’s 2020 Star Wars-inspired collection was such that the eyewear brand recently expanded its range, which now pays homage to not just the original Star Wars movies but also to some of the new characters introduced in The Mandalorian.
The Luke Skywalker X-Wing Starfighter RX Clear Glasses
Inspired by Luke Skywalker’s flight gear as seen in the Star Wars movies, including A New Hope and The Return of the Jedi, these aviator-style clear glasses offer an oversized fit, unique bridge design, white frames, and temple details that hint at the X-Wing Starfighter itself.
The Jabba’s Palace Sunglasses
Jabba’s Palace and its infamous namesake first appeared in The Return of the Jedi, and these shield-style sunglasses are the epitome of futuristic desert cool. They incorporate gold-colored metal frames and green-tinted lenses and come with a gold chain inspired by Jabba the Hutt’s hookah.
The Han Solo Polarized Shades
With their sleek hexagonal aviator-style frames, these polarized sunglasses reflect Solo’s imprisonment in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back. The silver frames and cool-blue lenses make these sunnies a must-have for any serious Star Wars fan.
Marking the Anniversary of Return of the Jedi with a Pair of Stylish Sunglasses
With Star Wars fans celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the release of Return of the Jedi, there’s no better time to get involved with the celebrations by choosing a pair of Star Wars-inspired shades from the eyewear brand DIFF. Whether your favorite character is Princess Leia, Boba Fett, or R2D2, or you want to pay homage to the legendary Jabba’s Palace scene in the movie, you’ll find the perfect pair of sunglasses for your fandom needs.