'Racing' CL 1401 Shield Sunglasses — Black

Courrèges 'Racing' CL 1401 Shield Sunglasses — Black

André Courrèges founded his house in 1961 with a vocabulary built around futurism, white space, and architectural geometry — the moon-boot silhouettes, the trapezoidal mini dresses, the Space Age optimism that defined Paris in the mid-1960s. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the brand's eyewear program had carried that geometric instinct into a different idiom entirely: chunky shield masks and wraparound silhouettes that anticipated the Y2K mood years before the broader fashion conversation caught up.

These CL 1401 sunglasses sit firmly in that lineage. The shield is cut from a single piece of glossy black acetate with architectural squared temples and a smooth wraparound profile that reads more racing-helmet than spectacle. Brown gradient lenses. The right temple is stamped 'Cat 03 / CL1401 0001 / courrèges'; the left temple reads 'courrèges / hand made in France / CE'. The CE marking dates the piece to post-1995 (when CE eyewear compliance became mandatory in the EU), and the 'hand made in France' designation places it firmly within Courrèges' higher-end production rather than a licensed secondary line — consistent with circa 1998–2001 dating. Made in France.

The piece is in very good vintage condition with sharp lines and intact lettering throughout. The Y2K shield silhouette is having a sustained moment, and Courrèges is one of the few houses whose archive matches the energy. For the buyer who reads the late-90s Paris archive as wearable canon rather than costume.