The Carrera brand of sunglasses was launched in 1956 by Wilhem Anger Werker, an Austrian sports eyewear specialist. Wilhem was a spectator at the Panamericana road race in South America in 1953 when it occurred to him that racing car drivers and probably high speed skiers could use a pair of glasses to protect their eye from the strong winds, high glare and foreign particles encountered during high speed racing. Carrera sunglasses were originally launched as a sports glasses alternative to goggles and were used primarily for winter sports including ski jumping, skiing and motor racing.
In 1974 Carrera was renamed and became Carrera International. This new name reflected the move to Traun in Austria, where a new headquarters was established. Production and demand accelerated rapidly and many partnerships and alliances were formed including a partnership with Ferdinand Porsche to develop and manufacture the Carrera Porsche Design range of sunglasses. These new business partnerships proved extremely successful and were employed in conjunction with the sponsorship of many high profile sporting events including Formula One Racing, the Americas Cup and the Winter Olympics in 1988 allowing Carrera International to rapidly increase their market share and customer profile.
The Carrera brand was purchased by Safilo in 1996. Safilo already owned the rights to Hugo Boss, Gucci, Christian Dior and Giorgio Armani and owned a large network of outlets across the globe distributing these brands. Selling the Carrera brand to the Safilo group gave Carrera an instant increase in market share as the Carrera brand was now available in all of the current Safilo outlets.
In the late 1990s Safilo split the Carrera range into two main categories. The Sports Sunglasses category included all Carrera sunglasses and goggles that were designed primarily for use in sporting events while the Lifestyle Sunglasses category included those glasses designed primarily as fashion items. The popularity of the Lifestyle Sunglasses range has grown dramatically since the split and these sunglasses account for more than seventy percent of Carrera sales.
Carrera sunglasses frames and lenses are manufactured to the highest standards using only the best quality materials and the finest craftsmen. They are extensively tested in the laboratory for durability, resistance to chemical attack, and resistance to damage during impact.