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White Lotus star Walton Goggins has a new gig: as the designer of ski-ready specs.
The Emmy-nominated Fallout actor was sitting at the fire pit at his local ski resort in Hudson Valley, New York — where the Dodgers fan recently decamped from Los Angeles — when he dreamed up Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses, a collection of oversized sunglasses created for the sun and snow. He teamed with polarized eyewear company Revo — known for its lenses developed with NASA in the mid-1980s — to manufacture the line of statement-making reflective sunnies with UVA/UVB protection. The new venture joins his spirits company, Mulholland Distilling, which he co-founded with cinematographer Mathew Alper, in 2017.
“I live 15 minutes from a ski resort — a small one but a great one,” Goggins tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ll usually go for a couple of hours midweek after I drop my son off at school. No one is there. One day I’d been skiing for a couple of hours. After I was sitting outside the lodge having a beer in front of a fire pit. I had my goggles around my neck. The wind picked up. I put them on and thought, I never want to take these off. Ever. They were just so comfortable. So cool.
I played sports growing up, I was a good athlete. Not a great athlete. But I always liked wearing the equipment — the cleats, the helmet, the gloves. And I thought, I’m probably not alone in this feeling. I’ve never seen goggles worn as streetwear. Yes, DO THAT! Let’s make equipment that we never have to take off! There’s always enough room in the console for one more pair.”
Clockwise from top left: Goggins Goggles La Tortuga, Limoncello, Mama’s Skillet, Blue and Cumulonimbus sunglasses with adjustable straps.
Goggins Goggles
The brand debuted with five pairs ($150 each): La Tortuga with brown lenses and a tortoise shell frame; the cloud white Cumulonimbus frames with yellow and purple-tinted lenses; the oh-so-’80s neon yellow Limoncello; the glossy Mama’s Skillet black frames with green-blue lenses; and a not-so-subtle matte blue style. All lenses can be converted into sun or snow glasses and include two frames and removable arms that can be swapped out with the adjustable straps for a snug fit on the slopes.
Goggins admits the brand’s name is a mouthful. He also reveals that the R&D process was “tense, to be quite honest. I didn’t know if this was going to work. There’s a lot that goes into making goggles that are also glasses. The transformation had to be seamless. But the first time I put them on I knew I had made something that I would enjoy! They’re retro and modern simultaneously. Timeless. It’s like they’ve always been around. We can see ourselves wearing them in family photo albums from the ’80s. That’s the feeling I wanted to create, the conversation I wanted to have. The world is changing exponentially faster, day by day, month by month, year by year, than any time in history. If we can create moments that slow the turning of that wheel. This was that for me.”
He continues, “I believe sunglasses are the most fashion-forward ways in which we can express ourselves. It is a vibe that we put out in the world. It’s the first thing people notice,” says Goggins. “I own two watches, but I own 20 pairs of sunglasses. I’ve collected them over the years. Many I’ve purchased on my own and some were given to me when a job ended.”
Goggins Goggles blue sunglasses, $150.
Goggins Goggles is a full-circle moment for the 53-year-old actor, who stars in the Thailand-set third season of White Lotus as hotel guest Rick Hatchett. Sunglasses were the first status symbol for Goggins when he was a struggling actor in Hollywood.
“My first pair of nice sunglasses were Oliver Peoples. I lived close to the bone for most of the first three years I lived in LA. One month I lived so close to the bone I almost broke it,” he explains. “I saved enough money from my tips valet parking over the course of that month to buy the pair I had seen people wearing when they stepped out of the cars I parked. I walked into the Oliver Peoples on Sunset and bought a pair. I still have them to this day.”
His stylish and oversized side hustle aside, Goggins is still faithful to his favorite specs designers. “I’m also a huge fan of [Peoples’ eyewear designer son] Garrett Leight — the apple doesn’t fall too far and all that. Caddis does some great glasses. The Wayfarer is still one of my favorites; Ray-Ban has always been and remains iconic. Maybe WGGG will be too. Maybe not… maybe it’s just a moment. But a moment is what I live for!”
The Righteous Gemstones actor regularly puts Goggins Goggles to the test around town. “I’m my own walking billboard. The best feedback I’ve received so far while wearing them was when someone stopped me on the street and said, ‘Hey man… I love your work. Where did you get those sunglasses?’ I said, ‘Well, they’re not just sunglasses. They’re also goggle glasses. Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses.’”
His admirer’s reply: “Those are bangers!”
Shop Goggins Goggles ($150 per pair) online at gogginsgoggles.com.