Dominic Cooper
Picnics in the park, the familiar tune of ice cream trucks and sunglasses in heavy rotation on faces—these are the sights and sounds of summer in the big city. What better way to welcome its arrival with an outdoor party under the hot sun? Solstice Sunglasses and Sàfilo marked the official start of summer and the longest day of the year with “Celebrate Summer Solstice,” a two-day event in New York City on June 20-21. The event also celebrated the launch of the new Carrera 6000 sunglass collection, with the festivities taking place at Gansevoort Plaza in New York City’s Meatpacking district. The celebration kicked off with a celeb-studded soiree with VIP guests including actor Adrian Grenier, Victoria’s Secret supermodel Erin Heatherton, 2012 Sports Illustrated model Chrissy Teigen, actor Dominic Cooper and newly crowned Miss USA Olivia Culpo, followed by an open invitation to the general public.

New Yorkers and out of town visitors cooled off with complimentary refreshments, enjoying Parkour troupe performances and grooving to beats spun by renowned DJs including Mia Morretti, Solange Knowles and Nina Sky. Guests stepped inside an illuminated geodesic dome symbolizing the sun and tried on styles from the Carrera 6000 collection. Set against a playful summer backdrop, attendees were filmed in their favorite pair and left with a keepsake Carrera picture flipbook, and a video file to post on Facebook and other social media channels. Solstice Sunglasses also set up a pop-up shop to offer guests the opportunity of being among the first to purchase the Carrera 6000 collection.

The new collection features an iconic square shape with distinctive wavy temples. Made from Optyl (an ultra-lightweight and hypoallergenic material proprietary to Sàfilo), which is designed to not deform even at high temperatures, Carrera 6000 is named for the temperature of the sun’s photosphere. Amidst a heat wave that had set upon the city during the summer solstice celebration, the temperature appropriately felt like 6,000 degrees. But armed with Carrera 6000, we’ll brave any heat wave.   
—Christine Yeh
 

From left:  Olivia Culpo; Erin Heatherton; Adrian Grenier; Chrissy Teigen; Solange Knowles