Notorious B.I.G frequently wore the Versace accessory at the height of his career – including for the video for hit song ‘Hypnotize’ – and the luxury Italian fashion house has decided to bring back the iconic glasses, 20 years after the artist’s death.
The Notorious B.I.G Versace sunglasses have been given a contemporary make-over and the classic curved frames have now been changed into hexagonal low-lens design – in keeping with the recent trend for retro cat-eye and oval framed glasses – and will be released as part of the fashion brand’s The Clans Collection.
Donatella Versace – who took over the fashion house in 1997 following the murder of her brother Gianni Versace and has now sold it to Michael Kors – and she had a close relationship with the rapper.
The 63-year-old designer often saw Biggie – real name Christopher Wallace – during her runway shows in Paris and has previously insisted that his references to Versace in his lyrics were pivotal into making the fashion house a global brand.
She previously said: “I think Biggie was amazing. He came to my shows in Paris many times, and we’d see each other often. He always used to talk so nicely about my family. I think he was so smart, so intelligent. He had such a mind.
“So I loved what he was doing and how he was giving people a way to know about Versace – I do think he was giving people a way to know about Versace, I do think a lot of people started to know about Versace because of him.”
The new Versace glasses will still feature the label's trademark gold Medusa design and will be sold exclusively at Barney's stores in the US, for $295 (£225).
Bang Showbiz
