Evan Mock and Roberto Vedovotto, CEO of Kering Eyewear, Discuss the Inspiration Behind Maui Jim’s ‘Color You Can Feel’ Campaign
The skater, surfer and fashion savant opens up about his ambassadorship with the luxury eyewear brand, embracing the Aloha Spirit and the magic behind PolarizedPlus2 lenses.
Born and raised in Oahu, Hawaii, Evan Mock is whatever he wants to be. A skater, surfer, photographer, model (and the occasional actor — when he’s feeling up to it), Mock isn’t one to abide by the status quo. A free spirit in its truest sense, Mock channels a modern “cool” effect that only a few embody with a sense of nonchalance. His hairstyles and fashion sensibilities change like the seasons — from his iconic pink buzz cut to spike blonde tips to, most recently, a purple-dyed rat rail — and his socials show him perpetually in a state of experimentation and reinvention. His global brand ambassadorship with Maui Jim, a contemporary eyewear brand founded in Lahaina, Maui, is born of genuine appreciation for Hawaii’s overwhelming beauty and the communities that raised him, from Haleʻiwa’s Banzai Skatepark to the gorgeous beachfront of Oahu’s North Shore. Currently based in New York City’s Lower East Side, he spends his downtime skating at Tompkins Square Park. And through all the adventures, the Aloha Spirit guides him — an unshakeable energy that breathes through his creative efforts — on the runway, concrete and waves alike.
Who, then, to better represent Maui Jim’s latest campaign, “Color You Can Feel?” Gesturing to the raw and unbridled emotion unlocked by nature’s vibrant hues — all the more riveting behind a pair of Maui Jim’s PolarizedPlus2 sunglasses — the campaign aims to enrapture a set of outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers while remaining true to the brand’s Hawaiian roots. With Founder, President and CEO Roberto Vedovotto at the helm of Kering Eyewear — Maui Jim’s parent company — the brand is poised for a rebirth of sorts. Vedovotto has been pivotal in leading the French giant’s global footprint in luxury and sportswear, carving a niche for Maui Jim amongst Kering Eyewear’s robust portfolio of fashion and luxury houses.
The Collection ‘Ekahi marks the first launch designed and produced by Kering Eyewear, presenting a range of innovative PolarizedPlus2 sunglasses, long regarded for their superior UV protection and lens technology. PolarizedPlus2 sunglasses have remained a staple of outdoor culture and a silhouette favored for their styling versatility and street-to-sport functionality. Eliminating 99% of the sun’s glare, they also enhance color, clarity and depth perception — redefining how you see the world.
Evan Mock and Roberto Vedovotto sat down with Hypebeast, who were both wearing shades from the latest collection, to discuss the inspirations behind the “Color You Can Feel” campaign and Maui Jim’s commitment to rebuilding the Lahaina community through the Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. Maui Jim is donating 10% of proceeds from select sunglasses sales worn by ambassador Evan Mock to the Maui Strong Fund in 2024. Touching on acting, Gen Z’s grip on the fashion realm and staying honest to brand loyalists while looking to Maui Jim’s horizon, the duo opened up about working behind the scenes together.
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Hypebeast: Maui Jim’s PolarizedPlus2 lenses are specifically inspired by the natural beauty of Hawaii and designed to enhance the way you see the world through brilliant color. What do you gravitate to most about the brand?
Evan Mock: I don’t think you can get these lenses anywhere else. Maui Jim’s always been in my life. My first job was working on a boat, and the captain had Maui Jim’s on; the lifeguards had Maui Jim’s on; my dad had Maui Jim’s on. It’s always been there. To me, it’s a heritage brand at this point. So being able to represent Maui Jim in my own way is cool. Working with the team has been great. They listen. It’s nice to be able to work with people that listen and make you feel like your opinion matters. It feels like a very collaborative effort with everybody together. I’ve met a group of amazing people along the way.
Hypebeast: The “Color You Can Feel” campaign looks to inspire a younger, fashion-forward audience, while immersing consumers in color, sound and emotion. How would you say acting is a similar vehicle to channel emotions and tap into deeper realms of your creativity?
Evan Mock: I feel like acting is a great way to constantly reinvent yourself. It’s an amazing opportunity to be on camera and completely not recognize yourself on certain things. It kind of goes back to working with people that you wanna work with. It’s just fun to do what you want to do and actually have fun with it at the same time, and work with people who have like-minded ideas and opinions — and sometimes not like-minded opinions, and that’s what makes it fun and challenging. Acting was a pretty big step for me. I never [lost] sleep over an audition. I never wanted to really do it. And when it fell into my lap, I decided that I honestly loved doing it. It was something that I knew nothing about at the time, and it was a really pivotal moment in my life and my career. But then I realized I love it so much and want to do it all the time now. A simpler version is just living for a living. I want to explore everything that I want to do and anything that interests me. I want to dive head first into it and give all my effort.
Hypebeast: What was it like creating the visuals tied to “Color You Can Feel?”
Evan Mock: I was actually kind of asking myself the whole time, is this really what we have to do? This is so easy and amazing. It’s nice to be on a set that everyone knows their title and knows what to do. We shot the campaign and it didn’t feel like work, which was nice. We all bonded [while] traveling together.
Roberto Vedovotto: From our perspective, it was very interesting, the moment in which the director, the photographer, the crew, Evan, and his team got together. Everyone realized the difference that we were trying to get across in the product. When we say ‘Color You Can Feel,’ we mean that. Maui Jim sunglasses are more than protecting you from the sun. If you put them on, for example, on a day like this, where there is a little bit of sun and clouds, you see only the bright colors and the blue of the sky, and therefore it changes your mood. It changes the way you feel. You immediately feel much more positive — enjoying the day. So when all [of these] people came together, we immediately embraced the sense of feeling better about life.
Hypebeast: Now a part of Kering Eyewear, Maui Jim has remained true to its Hawaiian heritage, continually drawing inspiration from the islands. Growing up in Oahu, what does it mean to you to represent the brand as a fresh face repping the island’s spirit in skate and surf culture?
Evan Mock: You see Maui Jim ads in Hawaii all the time in every store basically. It is funny because most people that I grew up with don’t really know what I do or the brands that I [work with]. This was like the first brand where they were like, ‘Oh, Maui Jim, that’s the one.’ They know it. Their dad had it — they’ve had their own pair. They grew up with it. What also originally drew me was the donation. [It’s] a nice feeling to give back to your community. Me coming from Hawaii — living in New York now — I wanted to just glorify where I came from and share the Aloha Spirit. I feel like when you see someone talk about it, it’s infectious.
Roberto Vedovotto: We want to expand Maui Jim internationally and we want to speak to a broader audience because we truly believe that this brand inspires all sorts of people and generations. Evan was mentioning before, that in a way, the brand has been used by a certain group of people. We [will] expand the consumer target [and] make sure that even the younger generation, thanks to the help of Evan, will think about Maui Jim. We stay true to the Maui Jim brand DNA, and also, ensure that we preserve the Aloha Spirit, which is typical of the islands.
Through this donation that we decided to do for the wildfires, we want everyone [to] feel part of our family. We will work with Evan also to develop new styles — to give us suggestions in terms of the shape, materials and colors of Maui Jim sunglasses.
Hypebeast: The Maui Strong Fund aids native and indigenous Hawaiians affected by the 2023 wildfires. Can you speak on the brand’s commitment to uplift local communities throughout the islands?
Evan Mock: [It’s] in the back of your head that the people are gonna take care of each other and everything will be alright, eventually. Hawaii is all about community and family. The street that I grew up on — the people that were older than me [were] allowed to slap me around if I was acting like an idiot. Everyone watches out for each other. Everyone’s in each other’s business. Everyone knows what’s going on. Everyone takes care of each other, which is something special. And not to say that doesn’t happen anywhere else, but how I was raised and then moving to other places and not getting that was a little bit of a culture shock. That support system isn’t there anymore.
Growing up with that, you don’t really realize how amazing it is until you move somewhere else. I have faith in the back of my head that everyone’s gonna take care of [each other]. It’s not just gonna get swept under the rug. It’s a very communal effort. All the neighbor islands are pitching in to do what they can. I have friends that are living just a little bit outside of LA, giving up their houses for two years for the people [whose] houses burned down. They’re just moving wherever they can in order for them to be close to their work, kids and schools. That’s a special [thing] about Hawaii.
Roberto Vedovotto: Hawaii is all about family and values, and for us, as a company, giving back is very important. On one side, we try to make sure that we share the fact that we’ve been lucky to be so successful with the broader community. And second, our motto is ‘never, never, never give up.’ We immediately [sent] across the message that we [will] work harder to make sure that everything will be okay.
Hypebeast: Following “Color You Can Feel,” what can we expect to see from Maui Jim in terms of brand evolution and brand direction?
Roberto Vedovotto: We have for the first time launched a new collection entirely designed by Kering Eyewear, where we’re trying to make sure that customers outside the United States will also enjoy buying and wearing Maui Jim. So we went off to create styles that are interesting for European and Asian consumers to expand the brand worldwide, but also to reach young generations that can love and understand the beauty, innovation and advantages of our lenses. That said, we also keep up with the original promise, to also be a technical product for people that like to live outside. For that reason, we make sure that the people that are boating, fishing, golfing, and playing sports will also be happy with the development of our brands going forward. So there is an outdoor branding direction as well. These are sunglasses for those who are outdoors, living their lives and experiencing nature, first and foremost.
