Rosario Dawson and Warby Parker's 2018 Pupils Project Collaboration Is Back Again With A New Color Upgrade

After selling out instantly in 2018, Warby Parker and Rosario Dawson have re-released their collaborative Essex sunglasses style in forest green and a new colorway called Mojave Mauve. If you thought the shades looked super familiar, it's probably because you've seen them being worn by models in the Studio 189 runway show, which is founded by Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, this past New York Fashion Week.

The Essex sunglass style was introduced as a part of Warby Parker's Pupils Project collection back in 2018. The Pupils Project is a collaborative effort with a group of 10 creatives which include names such as Iman, Fran Lebowitz, and the late actor Michael K. Williams in an effort to provide schoolchildren with access to free glasses. Since its inception, the project has provided over 54,000 kids with free glasses.

“Every person who got these frames the first time wanted to give them to someone else or wanted to have a backup set.” Says Dawson. Each individual pair of sunglasses comes with a custom lens cloth designed by Studio 189. The reversible cloth has a digitally printed textile artwork that the brand originally designed and produced in Ghana using a traditional dyeing technique called hand batik. The backside features a mesmerizing repetition of green triangles that nod to the patterned freedom blankets of the Underground Railroad, and the front is a parade of pinks and purples, inspired by the celebration of Ghanaian masquerades. 

Frames can be purchased on warbyparker.com and retail for $95.