J Balvin is bringing energy to eyewear.
The global musician is adding eyewear design to his list of talents, which currently goes beyond music to encompass his collaboration with Nike Air Jordan and past investment in watch marketplace Bezel. Called Nrgy, his new brand with Revo, the debut limited-edition frame debuts Monday directly on its website.
The week of June 23, the full introductory collection will be available on both Nrgy’s and Revo’s websites, then roll out to select brick-and-mortar retailers.
Balvin said his love of the category started young. “Since I was a kid,” he told WWD in an exclusive interview. “It’s basically my mom’s fault — she’d put on my glasses, bandana and hat. She taught me a lot about expressing myself without talking.”
Citing other multihyphenate creatives, from Virgil Abloh to Pharrell Williams, Balvin draws inspiration from those who don’t confine themselves to a single medium. He also said he’s a collector of sunglasses, with an affinity for vintage styles from Chanel and Dior.
A look at J. Balvin’s new sunglass line with Nrgy.
Ricardo Beas/WWD
Balvin has a broad knowledge to draw from and still has a singular point of view he’s brought to the category. “Being Latino is something I feel really proud of, and what we achieved in music, we can do in fashion,” he said. “We got Willy Chavarria killing it, we’ve got Luar.”
Architecture — he designed all of his properties globally — is another passion, and he also wants to design cars.
“Music is always going to be the reason the door opens for me, but the dream is to express myself in different ways,” he continued. “Creating a new world keeps me inspired.”
He doesn’t think that designing eyewear is that different from creating an album.
“As a musician, I also want to touch different parts of culture,” he continued. “One of my biggest dreams has always been to be a creative designer in different projects. In this case, we started with Revo, and I wanted to find the right partner.”
Of the first collection due out later in June, called CXN_01, he had to self-edit to land on the right mix for launch.
“We started developing this capsule really well curated. We both love accessories, especially sunglasses, and I think we accomplished a really good first step, but of course, it’s brand new,” Balvin said.
For Revo, the thinking was manifold.
“[Balvin] offers us entrée to a whole new group of people. Generationally, it can be hard to appeal to a younger audience that doesn’t know about the brand, but then they can fall in love with it when they see we make great product,” said Cliff Robinson, Revo’s chief executive officer. And though Balvin will bring a lot of new eyes to the brand, he plans to retain them with the quality of the products.
From an aesthetic perspective, it’s also helping Robinson broaden the company’s offerings beyond Revo’s performance-driven heritage. Already Balvin has been sporting styles on his global tour.
“The alliance with a celebrity is great, but if the product doesn’t stand the test of time, what’s the point?” Robinson said. “From a fashion standpoint, Revo is a great brand but it’s not a fashion brand. And now we can speak to a totally different, trend-driven audience.”
That also informed the pricing strategy for the collection. “We’re priced today in the $150 to $300 range,” Robinson said. “The core is really $150 to $225 in retail. For a younger audience, there are plenty of brands that price themselves at $500 for exclusivity reasons but we wanted this to be accessible. Jose has 50 million fans on social, and 50 million fans aren’t buying $500 sunglasses.”
A look at J. Balvin’s new sunglass line with Nrgy.
Ricardo Beas/WWD
Revo has been in expansion mode in more ways than one. The company opened a flagship in New York’s SoHo last year and also unveiled plans to outfit the U.S. sailing team.
“Revo is the only independently owned premium sunwear brand left in the business,” Robinson said. He said the brand’s biggest obstacle is also its biggest asset. “The opportunity, and the challenge, is that everyone is our customer,” he said, noting that the existing customer is mostly upward of age 35.
The CXN_01 brand will continue with at least two drops annually, Robinson said. “The strategy behind that will be calling friends of Jose, whether that be other brands, artists or celebrity. We already have some cool things up our sleeves for fall and spring of 2026,” he said. “And then we’ll have a few new items in the core collection as well. From a retail standpoint, you’ll see those launches seasonally.”
Given Balvin’s resonance in the Latin American market, Robinson expects the partnership to help Revo strengthen its footprint globally.
A look at J. Balvin’s new sunglass line with Nrgy.
Ricardo Beas/WWD
“Revo is globally recognized, but as a smaller independent company, it’s harder sometimes to cut through the clutter,” he said. “This gives us openings in markets where Revo maybe wasn’t relevant or well known. And now we have a whole new conversation to have with those consumers we couldn’t before.”
The market is just as important to Balvin, albeit for more personal reasons. “Latin culture is selling stadiums all over the world,” Balvin said. “Our culture is so big, has so many colors and options and ways to express ourselves. We can be in every aspect of the world and make it cool.”
