BRANDS WE LOVE: Vallon Classics
If you grew up skiing in the 1970’s or 1980’s, dreaming of mogul fields, steeps, deep “back bowl” powder, or dropping into Corbet’s Couloir like a boss, then you probably owned a pair of iSki sunglasses. Their sculpted plastic frames and heavily mirrored lenses were, for a time, pretty ubiquitous, from Mach 1 to Upper FIS, from Purgatory to Gstaad, and were seen on the faces of top amateurs, pros, and poseurs alike. Mine were layered, red white and blue, and I lived in the things. Wayne Wong, hotdogger extraordinaire, was as famous for his all-white versions as he was for his shit-eating grin and “Wong Bangers.” Surfers loved them too, as did mountaineers, because the same full coverage anti-glare design worked as well on the beach or base camps as it did in the powder. Yeah, baby. If you were into outdoor adventure, speed and thrills back in the day, these shades pretty much ruled the roost.
Wayne Wong, Canadian king of hotdogging and freestyle skiing, and his famous all-white iSkis…
But time and style marches on, and iSki died off. I had two precious pairs of my red/white/blue versions left, and gave one to my sister. The remaining pair doesn’t get much wear these days, because I’m afraid of scratching or damaging them. 45 year old plastic. 45 year old mirroring. Not sure how that’s going to work in a modern world. Plus, mine remind me of my uncle Ron, who rocked an identical pair, passed away too young, and remains the coolest cat and best damn skier I’ve ever known. So they’re precious to me. Too precious. They come out now only on special occasions which, frankly, defeats the purpose and seems a little sad.
And then… a lifesaver was thrown my way. Swiss outfit Vallon introduced their “Ski Aviator,” a beautifully faithful homage to the iSki originals, with the same sculpted frame shape and the same diabolically mirrored goodness, updated with modern lens technology and proper construction techniques. I have two pairs of the dark blue and one of the green, but they are also available in black and a modern tortoise shell. Late in 2020, they even released a short run of “Wayne Wong” series in all-white, which sold out seemingly in hours, because I haven’t been able to get my hands on a pair yet.
Still no red, white and blue. Or even all-red. Vallon, are you listening? Make it happen!
But regardless of which color you choose, the minute you slip them on you’ll feel those swingin’ 70’s rhythms coursing through you, and the step back in time is made even more appealing by the modern UV filtering and sturdy build quality that vastly outperforms my originals. Despite the aggressive style, they flatter almost any face shape, and fit snugly, staying securely in place no matter what freestyle moves you’re pulling.
Check ‘em out at www.vallon.store.
They make other styles, including some trippy retro glacier glasses and even ski goggles, but I’m stuck on the Ski Aviators. They speak to me.