As the lines between brand and celebrity continue to blur, music’s role as a pop culture medium continues to grow. Jack Harlow signed on as a New Balance brand ambassador earlier this year. Bad Bunny has an ongoing collaboration with Adidas. And L’Oréal Paris chose SHE as the face for its Elvive Curls line.
Now, Futuremood, makers of super-stylish sunnies looking to shift moods with their saturated psychedelic optics, are expanding their lens and deepening their connection with the tastemaker community.
Rapper Lil Yachty has become an investor in the company, which recently secured an investment from music duo Chainsmokers. Both relationships go much deeper than a money infusion. Lil Yachty and Futuremood have been collaborating since 2020 on a Yachty-inspired line of products, due out this fall to coincide with his first new music in over two years.
“Yachty has some amazing music coming out and the sunglasses will be coming out shortly after that,” says Austin Soldner, co-founder and CEO of Futuremood. “We’ll be teasing parts of the product line and the first drop over the next few months.”
While details about his signature eyewear remain under wraps, Yachty shares some of his inspirations forbes. “The model we settled on for the first release means so much to me because it was inspired by one of my favorite eras in fashion and hip-hop music – the ’90s. That real Compton, LA style that’s just so elegant,” he says.
“I don’t talk too much about what I’m working on, but I can say I’ve got it done,” he says of the new album. “The mixing process was lengthy. I’ve never made an album like this before. It’s extremely different and there are a lot of moving parts.”
The deep creative alliance Futuremood has built with the artist underscores his take on the creative partnership. It’s a relationship that’s as much about ethos and aesthetics as it is about marketing and advertising. Case in point: while iterating on design elements, Soldner and the team spent time with Yachty at both his Atlanta home and in the studio.
“We went through various elements to get an idea of what shades felt right for him in that time and place, and we did a number of different design sessions and meetups to talk about innovations we could add ‘ says Soldner.
This spirit resonates in the artist community. The Chainsmokers’ limited edition purple eyewear line, designed to capture the moods the Grammy-winning duo experienced while creating their new album So far, so goodmarked their first brand partnership in more than four years.
“With Yachty’s sunglasses, every vibe he felt…anything we can do to pull that through and get that across to the people who wear the glasses so they can almost feel what it’s like, in that moment, with Yachty.” to rock – that’s what we do,” says Soldner. “One thing that was super important was that none of this could feel like merch. Nothing could feel like it was connected to the music.”
Lil Yachty, who counts Glosslab and Lox Club, a dating app for the Jewish community, among his other investments, was drawn to the style of the sunglasses even more than their ability to enhance auras. After meeting Futuremood for a pair to try out – the red AuraBoost being his favorite – he went to the races, shared them with friends and even made a TikTok video with the glasses.
“As an artist, I’m always looking for ways to unleash my creativity,” he says. “What really drew me to the company was the presentation and packaging of the sunglasses and the quality. As simple as this may seem, it just blew my mind. When I spoke to the guys I could tell how passionate they were and that was really important. I wanted to be a part of it.”
In addition to Yachty, USC is one of the youngest Futuremood investors
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Quarterback Caleb Williams, Slick Woods, Scoop Investments’ Adam Kluger, Night Ventures’ Reed Duchscher and 10K Ventures’ Elliot Grainge.
“When we think about the people we want to work with, we think people are the future,” says Soldoner.
“The future of music, the future of fashion, the people who define creative voices. Yachty is in my opinion one of the most underrated artists of our time and I think there is so much creativity coming out of him on a daily basis. Those are the kind of people I’m inspired by.”
