Monet McMichael, Desi Perkins Team on Eyewear Collection
The limited-edition drop features three pairs of sunglasses priced $79 to $90.
McMichael has teamed up with Perkins to launch a limited-edition '90s and Y2Kinspired collection featuring two new styles, "Moneybag$" and "Montay," as well as a new, silver-chrome colorway of the brand's existing "Slick" frames.
Launching soon direct-to-consumer and at select Nordstrom locations, the collection ranges in price from $79 to $90.
"I've been one of Desi's cheerleaders for as long as I can remember — whenever she would upload a video to YouTube, I was locked in," said 24-year-old McMichael, whose own content creation career began on the same platform when she was just nine years old.
McMichael and Perkins have both since leveraged their social media prowess into brand-building savvy; Perkins launched Dezi in 2020, followed by a second business endeavor, Dezi Skin, one year later. Both brands have seen standout growth since, with Dezi inaugurating its first retail partnership with Nordstrom last fall and earning a Beyoncé cosign last month when she wore the frames.
This collaboration, Perkins said, is a natural next evolution of the brand's growth.
"I came across Monet for the first time through a TikTok video on my For You Page; she was on a yacht with her friends and each of them were wearing Dezi eyewear," said Perkins, who was instantly drawn to McMichael's signature, artful approach to video editing and content. "I remember pulling my husband aside and being like, 'Do you see this girl, the kind of content she's creating? She's incredible.'"
When the pair became signed to the same management company, Range Media Partners, in 2023, it quickly became clear that a creative collaboration was in the cards.
"When Desi approached me about working together, I immediately felt the synergy," McMichael said. "I was so excited to provide my style and creative direction to a brand I have always loved, and work with someone who I look up to in this industry."
The collection's rimless, gold-accented "Moneybag$" style pays homage to a nickname McMichael earned during her high school softball days, while the bold, brown-framed "Montay" is an ode to the influencer's unfiltered alter ego.
"The girls that know Montay — they get it. She's my alter ego and she does not play," McMichael said.
The loyalty of Perkins' 7 million-strong social media following has played a significant role in propelling the growth of Dezi, said Perkins, who in 2024 is setting her sights even further. "We're trying to expand our audience outside of what I have built for myself over the years. Going into retail is a huge part of that, and really just widening the net of our customer demographic is the goal, I would say, for this year," she said.
The partnership marks McMichael's second of the like, following a limitededition apparel collection she codesigned for Amazon's "The Drop" in 2022. Beyond aiming to offer versatile styles that don't compromise flair, she also sought to add subtle personal touches to the line — among them a water lily accent embellishing the "Moneybag$" pair.
"It's inspired after Claude Monet — my favorite artist, who I'm named after," she said.