Ray-Ban fans gather to celebrate the re-launch of the iconic "Clubmaster" style NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A-listers Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Diane Kruger, Ed Westwick, Joshua Jackson, Kevin Bacon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Penn Badgley, Robert Buckley and the cast of MTV's upcoming reality series, "The City," joined Ray-Ban in honor of the re-launch of their iconic shade, the Clubmaster, last night in New York City. The event included a blowout concert by today's hottest indie artists, The Black Kids, Ipso Facto and White Williams, as well as a DJ set by Paul Sevigny. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081211/NY51514 ) "Ray-Ban has always managed to somehow stay hip. They've kept the classic look, the classic style, the classic shape, and so it's always been a cool, hip vintage thing," commented "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively. Her costar Ed Westwick said, "It's a classic cool thing ...a classic cool image. [Ray-Ban] is an 80's rock kind of cool. It's a part of music and a part of fashion and it brings it all together." The Bowery Ballroom, known for featuring the best emerging and breakthrough music artists, was packed with Ray-Ban fans celebrating the Clubmaster's return to the fashion and music scene. Ray-Ban commissioned nine contemporary artists to record a track of their choice from the '50s or '60s that was considered boundary-breaking and imaginative at the time of its initial release. The recorded songs were pressed onto limited edition red vinyl singles distributed at the event with the A-side featuring the "remastered" versions and the B-side featuring the original songs. The album includes the Jacksonville quintet Black Kids performing Egyptian Shumba in their synth-pop sound along with the psychedelic rock version of You Don't Own Me by the Ipso Facto and the hardcore hedonist White Williams singing I Hear A New World. Dean Chalkley, one of the world's foremost music and fashion photographers, provides exclusive iconography for the project that captures the full experience of Ray-Ban Remasters project, starting with recording sessions in the studio and ending with live performances on stage. "They're just kind of iconic you know? With the iconic shapes and the iconic photographs that have been taken of people wearing them. I have plenty of pairs myself and they just always look cool," said another industry icon, Kevin Bacon. The Clubmaster made its first appearance in 1986 taking reference from 1950's Browline design. The style was embraced by a diverse range of genres, including beatniks, rockabillies, jazz musicians, silver screen stars, rock n' roll rebels and political activists alike. Today, with their simple but sophisticated lines and updated in new and exciting colors, the Ray-Ban Clubmaster has become a favorite of Hollywood's most fashionable stars. The New York City Remasters event was the first installment of an international three-city concert tour; the second act of Ray-Ban Remasters will take place in Beijing (China) in early 2009 in Milan (Italy) in Spring 2009. Each event will offer a unique and exclusive live performance of the artists involved in Ray-Ban Remasters and their selected tracks. About Ray-Ban Remasters: http://www.ray-ban-remasters.com/ About Ray-Ban: http://www.ray-ban.com/ About Luxottica Group: Luxottica Group is a global leader in eyewear, with over 6,200 optical and sun retail stores in North America, Asia-Pacific, China, South Africa and Europe and a strong brand portfolio that includes our key house brand, Ray-Ban, the best selling sun and prescription eyewear brand in the world, as well as, among others, license brands Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany and Versace, and other key house brands Oakley, Oliver Peoples, Vogue, Persol, Arnette and REVO. In addition to a global wholesale network that touches over 130 countries, the Group manages leading retail brands such as LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sunglass Icon in North America, OPSM and Laubman & Pank in Asia-Pacific, and Sunglass Hut globally. The Group's products are designed and manufactured in six Italy-based high-quality manufacturing plants, in the only two China-based plants wholly-owned by a premium eyewear manufacturer, and in manufacturing facilities in the United States acquired as part of the Oakley acquisition. For fiscal year 2007, Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX) posted consolidated net sales of Euro 5 billion. Additional information on the Group is available at http://www.luxottica.com/ http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081211/NY51514 http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Luxottica Group CONTACT: Erin Burke, Rogers & Cowan, +1-212-445-8367 Web Site: http://www.luxottica.com/ http://www.ray-ban.com/

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