STATE Optical Co. Announces Limited Edition Collab with Maxwell

Launching February 1; Portion of Proceeds will support the Open Your Eyes Scholarship

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Chicago, IL, February, 2021 -- STATE Optical Co. is thrilled to announce the STATE X Maxwell Collaboration with a limited edition sunglass style designed in partnership with recording artist and three-time Grammy winner Maxwell.

STATE X Maxwell will be available starting February 1st.

The limited edition style is named REUNION, a reference to the song from Maxwell’s debut album 'Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite,’ and a word that means so much more in these times.

“I called the first pair REUNION because the world has been divided in so many ways... digital, geopolitical, gender discrimination, you name it, it’s happening, and it has to stop. REUNION is a promise, if not a guarantee, that we can come back together as the closing of the song clearly says 'we’re back together.’” said Maxwell. Given Maxwell’s message of love, the February release of the collab is fitting, right on top of Valentine’s Day.

The design of REUNION takes inspiration from Maxwell’s trademark modern soul sound. Blending soft and sharp lines, the design comes together much like a music composition. “We wanted to make something classic and timeless connected to songs I have written,” says Maxwell. Adding to the complexity of collaborating together for the first time, of course, was a pandemic. Over the course of many Zoom meetings, texts, and calls, Maxwell and STATE designer, Nico Roseillier, were able to design the REUNION as a stand-alone sun style fitting of Maxwell’s trademark sound and STATE’s reputation for American luxury eyewear.

Crafted in STATE’s Chicago factory, REUNION will be available in two colorways, a sultry blue smoke with brown gradient lenses, and a sandblasted matte black with blue gradient lenses. Each pair of sunglasses will be packaged with a card sharing a personal message from Maxwell, as well as a custom cleaning cloth.

STATE is proud to contribute a portion of sales from STATE X Maxwell to the Vision Council’s Open Your Eyes Scholarship (O-YES). Born out of the struggles of 2020 and seeking to provide more opportunities to teens in black and brown communities, O-YES provides tuition, an internship, and mentorship to high school seniors who aspire to become opticians. For Maxwell, this project is more than a pair of sunglasses, it’s a way to give back, and he looks forward to joining the O-YES board.

STATE X Maxwell will be available for purchase at stateopticalco.com, Maxwell’s website, musze.com, and select retailers. Quantities of this special collaboration are extremely limited, with only 200 units of each SKU available for purchase starting February 1st.

About

ABOUT STATE OPTICAL CO.

STATE Optical Co. frames are meticulously handcrafted in Chicago, U.S.A. for people who consider how their frame is made with as much mindfulness as how it looks. The brand was born from a collaboration of industry insiders Scott Shapiro and Jerry Wolowicz - who were focused on bringing radical transparency to how eyewear is designed and manufactured - and renegade, self-taught craftsmen Marc Franchi and Jason Stanley. Today STATE Optical Co. represents a first-of-its-kind brand of American made luxury eyewear.

ABOUT MAXWELL

Maxwell has artfully managed to transfix music lovers for more than two decades, releasing five studio albums, all in his own time and all duly anointed as classics. The soul singer redefined soul music in April of 1996 when he released his critically acclaimed debut on Columbia, 'Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite.' It earned Grammy nominations, double platinum status and RIAA gold for the single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)." The platinum albums 'Embrya' (1998) and 'Now' (2001) followed. After eight years, 2009's 'BLACKsummers'night' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won two Grammys, including Best R&B Album. To date, Maxwell has achieved 4 platinum album certifications from the RIAA. His last album ‘blackSUMMERS’night,’ the second installment of his musical trilogy, earned Maxwell his third-Grammy (Best R&B Song for “Lake By The Ocean”) an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Male Artist), and a Soul Train Award (Best R&B/Soul Male Artist).

February 1, 2021 6:40pm ET by Shore Fire Media  

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