Courtesy of Christopher Cloos

With celebrity partnerships, a steadfast eco-friendly ethos, advanced technology, and the most cutting-edge styles, Danish eyewear brand Christopher Cloos is going for the win — and with their current A-list collaboration, they can’t lose.

The brand has teamed with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady on the Cloos x Brady collection which features sunglasses, prescription lenses, a clip-on style and blue light options, all made of biodegradable frames.

With Brady’s recent announcement of his retirement from the NFL, the acclaimed athlete may be due for some downtime (perhaps on a beach while wearing his Cloos x Brady glasses?). But CEO Julius Langkilde assures us, more fashion-forward styles from the football legend are in store.

“The Brady partnership has certainly changed our company. We’ve grown tremendously with him,” said Langkilde, who recently announced the company’s first female brand ambassador, model Elsa Hosk.

On his way to the opening reception for Christopher Cloos’ new flagship store in Copenhagen, Denmark, Langkilde can’t sing Brady’s praises enough. “Not only is he a fantastic brand ambassador that can really lift a company’s voice, but he’s also just a person who goes in there to be a great partner and win for the company, and he has certainly done that.”

Ahead, GRAZIA caught up with Langkilde to discuss the Tom Brady collaboration and what’s next for their partnership.

Courtesy of Christopher Cloos

GRAZIA: What makes Tom Brady the perfect fit for Christopher Cloos?

Langkilde: A combination of his ideals and our ideals aligned very well. Tom Brady is known for his precision, his iconic persona, but has also turned himself into a style icon over the years. We thought those ideals resonated well with what we aim to stand for as a brand. That was why we ended up working with him.

GRAZIA: How would you describe the collaborative relationship between Cloos and Brady?

Langkilde: We sat down with him back in February 2020 for the first time. I had been communicating with his agent Steve Dubin prior to that. I brought in a designer from Denmark, and we sat down with Tom and Steve in New York. The four of us tried out different samples of frames, Tom tried them on and would decide if the shape needed to be straighter on his forehead, for example. Then, my designer would change up those elements in that meeting.

GRAZIA: Now that Brady has retired, will he be devoting more time to the Cloos collab?

Langkilde: He certainly has put in a great amount of effort in the partnership already. We’ve been doing great things so far. I think that will mean there might be a little bit more direct communication between himself and I from time to time, which is a fun part of the partnership. But also, he surrounds himself with great people. His whole team, whether it’s on the management side or the PR side, they certainly know how to handle a great talent and athlete. We will just be more focused on what we have in front of us and I think we’re going to have a great third year together in 2022.

GRAZIA: Why was it important to the brand to make the frames biodegradable? What does sustainability mean to Christopher Cloos?

Langkilde: That was actually Tom’s idea back in the day. We were designing some frames and he asked, ‘Can we make these frames sustainable? Is there a way to do that?’ I knew from a past discussion with our manufacturing partner that, absolutely we could make frames biodegradable. It was an interesting path for us to enter. We introduced the Brady frame as our first biodegradable frame and then we converted the whole collection into being biodegradable after that.

GRAZIA: What can you tell us about what’s next for Christopher Cloos x Tom Brady?

Langkilde: Without revealing too much, there will be a few lens options coming soon and a couple of more styles to see in 2022. I want him to be able to recharge a little after another long season. He is one of the few people who deserves a very long vacation.

SHOP NOW:

SUNGLASSES

SHOP NOW: Cloos x Brady – Bourbon, $189 via Christopher Cloos

BLUE LIGHT

SHOP NOW: Cloos x Brady – Grey Tonic Blue Light, $179 via Christopher Cloos

PRESCRIPTION

SHOP NOW: Cloos x Brady – Ristretto Prescription, $179 via Christopher Cloos

SUN PRESCRIPTION

SHOP NOW: Cloos x Brady – Coal Sun Prescription, $189 via Christopher Cloos 

CLIP-ON

SHOP NOW: Cloos x Brady Clip-On, $79 via Christopher Cloos