Tom Cruise's Sunglasses: A Stylish Icon in the Movies

After the success of Top Gun: Maverick, which came close to an Oscar, Tom Cruise recently hinted that he had considered the role of Iron Man in the past. Would he have sported a pair of equally iconic sunglasses?

Well, because in Tom Cruise's movies, sunglasses have often been the protagonists of a captivating and daring style – just like the characters he portrays. By the mid-90s, the actor became one of the most beloved and acclaimed in Hollywood, inspiring the style of generations of fans.

At TBDE, we tried to match a pair of Made in Italy sunglasses with some of the actor's most beautiful films. 

Top Gun, 1986: aviator sunglasses that make you fly

To convince Tom Cruise to film Top Gun in '86, the actor was taken on a plane with the Blue Angels Navy, who made him experience rolls and spins. It seems that he quickly got into the role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a highly skilled pilot with an indomitable character.
Leather jackets, bombers, t-shirts, and jeans dominate here. Aviator-style sunglasses found their success. We have reinterpreted them in a contemporary way, with bio-based materials handcrafted by artisans: they are our Piquet sunglasses.

Tom Cruise, Top Gun 1986

Reckless sunglasses from Knight and Day

"Nothing ever happens by chance": Roy is the protagonist of the film Knight and Day (2010). Given his roles in numerous action movies, it's no coincidence that Tom Cruise plays an FBI agent, handsome and disruptive, with an equally unusual outfit for chases and acrobatics: jeans, a denim shirt, and white t-shirt. You'll remember his reckless ride on a Ducati Hypermotard, with the character played by Cameron Diaz in tow. What kind of sunglasses does Tom Cruise wear here? A pair that reminds us a lot of our Panama Eco Black with bottle green lenses, with an elegant combination of a black frame and dark green lenses.

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in Knight and Day (2010)

"Edgy" 80s-style sunglasses

Let's go back in time to 1983 when a younger Tom Cruise was at the beginning of his career. Risky Business is a sharp and satirical comedy, the film that marks the actor's first leading role. Among the various personalities who auditioned for the precious part, figures like Michael J. Fox, Tom Hanks, and Nicolas Cage stood out. However, the final selection fell on the young and promising Tom Cruise, who was twenty years old at the time.
Joel (Tom Cruise) strips off his high school clothes, wearing jeans, a black t-shirt, a jacket, and slightly squared black-framed sunglasses. The bold aesthetics reminded us of our Denim Eco Black sunglasses, unisex and 100% sustainable.

Tom Cruise in Risky Business

Nostalgic sunglasses

Tom Cruise's latest movie was a great comeback, a return without borders between yesterday and today. In Top Gun: Maverick (2022), time doesn't seem to have passed, with leather jackets and patched bombers. After 36 years since the first film, sunglasses are also a certainty. In fact, they are perhaps even expected as guest stars, along with those everlasting 80s garments. 

You don't need to race around on a Kawasaki GPZ 900R like Maverick, if you love aviator sunglasses, you might like our Panama Collection, bio-based and with an incredibly lightweight acetate frame.

Tom Cruise acting in Top Gun: Maverick

If you're a sunglasses and style enthusiast like us, we present our selection of sunglasses inspired by Brad Pitt's eclectic personality and the bohemian charm we imagine for Johnny Depp. Enjoy your reading.