Anyone who’s ever wondered what real life might look like through the whimsical, Technicolor tinge of a Wes Anderson film may soon have a chance to find out, thanks to a new pair of shades from lensmaker Tens.
The Scotland-based company’s Spectachrome sunglasses are designed to filter light in such a way to enhance a color palette that matches the idiosyncratic style of Anderson-directed films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom The product has already hit more than triple its $12,000 funding goal on Indiegogo and is slated to ship in August at a preorder price of $89.
The creators announced the project with a 1-minute Wes Anderson-inspired video earlier this week. The spot was filmed over the course of a four-day road trip through Europe that hit locations featured on some of the director’s Instagram fan accounts, including Milan, Lake Como and Furka Pass of Switzerland.
Founded by three friends on a road trip in 2014, Tens specializes in filtered lenses like these. The small brand previously made waves with its inaugural Indiegogo launch of a pair of Instagram-inspired shades and a 1980s VHS filter the next year.
“It’s been five years since we launched our original filter lens, so we wanted to get this right,” said co-founder Kris Reid in a press release. “I can honestly say, looking through Spectachrome feels like being in a scene of a sun-bleached 1970s postcard.”
After sampling dozens of lenses, Tens was able to achieve the distinctive pastiche with a filter that combined “rich emerald greens” and “accentuated citron tones.” The lenses are manufactured in northern Italy.
“A friend said she felt like she was in a Wes Anderson movie without us even telling her the inspiration,” Reid said. “It’s by no means a subtle tint.”
Co-founder Marty Bell previously told Adweek that the company was founded on a mission to bring the vibrant fun of digital camera filters to the analog world.
“What if there was a way that we could skip all the cameras and apps?” Bell said of the company’s initial inspiration. “What if there was a way we could filter everything we see while being disconnected from technology?”
