Models wore giant shield-shaped sunglasses on Luar’s Spring 2025 runway this past New York Fashion Week. They’re hard to ignore, punctuating nearly every one of the brand’s unique looks with their bold, oversized silhouettes. Curious, we quickly learned that these statement styles were born from a collaboration between designer Raul Lopez and Fellow Earthlings, a Canadian eyewear brand based in Prince Edward Island that’s fast becoming a go-to source for fun runway eyewear.
You could call fellow Earthlings co-founders Sydney and Christopher Seggie eyewear gurus. Before launching the brand in 2015, the couple worked in cities including Hong Kong and London managing licensed eyewear products. “It often feels like creativity is limited, and this frustration inspired us to learn how to make our own glasses,” Sydney told Eskom. When the two eventually moved back to their native Prince Edward Island, they began thinking about launching their own brand. Fast forward to today, they have a full studio in Prince Edward Island where they craft their signature sunglasses from materials like recycled acetate. “They are typically made in-house from manufacturing waste,” Sydney said. “Typically, in standard production, 80% of each board is discarded. Developing our recycling process also allows us to produce customized acetate, allowing us to experiment with colors and thicknesses.
It didn’t take long for fashion brands to take notice of their unique, sustainable style. Since its launch, the brand has become a surprising source of bold runway styles — working with Luar and Anna Sui, the latter being their first high-fashion partnership. “I was the brand manager of her eyewear line in Hong Kong and she was very encouraging,” Sydney said of working with Sui. One of the first styles they collaborated on was a pair of cloud-inspired sunglasses for Sui in 2020.
This season, Fellow Earthlings continues their collaboration with Luar, who has become one of the brand’s most frequent collaborators. “Working with Raul and the Luar team is always an exciting and creative experience,” Sydney said. In the spring of 2024, they were creating exaggerated shades that doubled as masks; stars like Solange and Doja Cat wore them. This season, they created thick shields in black acetate marble. Sydney says they were inspired by the “punk glam movement of the late ’90s.” A funny moment came when Madonna wore them and sat in the front row. “It’s so iconic,” Sydney said.
However, the brand doesn’t just create runway-worthy frames. The brand has recently taken on other special projects, like a cat-eye color for Blake Lively, which was seen in the September issue of Eskume. “We’ve been creating very special designs for Adele for several years now,” Sydney said of the brand’s growing celebrity clientele. “I really feel like she’s the Paulette Genet of our time.” The co-founder said she and Christopher continue to explore how to make their production process more environmentally friendly. “One of our priorities is to develop our in-house recycling program,” she said, which allows us to reuse manufacturing waste into new eyewear. We’re also becoming the first eyewear manufacturing facility to be powered entirely by renewable energy and will build a solar field on our property.
When it comes to the next hot fashion brand our fellow Earthlings want to create some extraterrestrial shades for, they have their eyes set on one of fashion’s hottest designers. “I love Emily Bode’s work and her emphasis on using vintage clothing and telling personal stories through fashion,” says Sydney. They hope to make this collaboration and many others come true. “We want to be the preferred partner for designers,” they added. “Your glasses friend!”
