GTA 6 Sunglasses: The Retro Eyewear Styles of Leonida

Grand Theft Auto and I go back a long way.

As a teenager, I played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City when it was released in 2002, and I loved pretty much everything about it. The cars, the neon, the unmistakable 80s aesthetic – and especially the music.

The soundtrack was such a big part of the game. Driving around and listening to its brilliantly chosen mix of 1980s pop, rock and new wave somehow made Vice City feel like a real place rather than simply the backdrop to a video game.

More than two decades later, we're returning to familiar territory. 

Grand Theft Auto VI is set in the fictional state of Leonida, Rockstar's take on Florida, and it is set for release on 19 November 2026. The 1980s setting I remember has gone, but watching the trailers and latest footage, one thing certainly hasn't changed: style is a huge part of the GTA world.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, as an optician who spends most of her working life surrounded by vintage eyewear, I've found myself looking at the sunglasses.

The Sunglasses of GTA 6

Sunglasses are everywhere in the world Rockstar has created. 

That makes perfect sense. This is a fictional version of Florida, after all, but they're also an incredibly effective way of telling us something about a character before they've even spoken.

Oversized lenses, aviators, browline frames and tinted lenses all have very different associations – and GTA VI seems to be making good use of them.

What particularly interests me is how many of the styles feel familiar. 

Although the game is firmly set in the present day, some of the eyewear we've seen has its roots in designs that have been around for decades. That's exactly the kind of thing we love at Retro Spectacle.

So, what have we spotted so far?

A quick note before we get into the frames: as far as we're aware, Rockstar hasn't confirmed the real-world brands or models behind the sunglasses featured in GTA VI. Our comparisons are based purely on the shapes, details and styling we've spotted in the official imagery and footage - and the vintage and retro frames they remind us of.

Raul Bautista's Sunglasses

One pair of sunglasses that has really caught people's attention Raul Bautista's. 

Rockstar introduces Raul as a seasoned bank robber with confidence, charm and cunning – and his eyewear suits the character remarkably well.

He wears what appear to be metal browline-style sunglasses, with a strong upper rim and brown-tinted lenses. 

Persol 833 Sunglasses

Gucci 2301 Sunglasses

Boobie Ike Sunglasses

Boobie Ike wears one of the boldest pairs of sunglasses we've spotted in GTA VI so far: thick, chunky black square frames finished with gold detailing at the temples. The look immediately brings to mind the oversized Cazal styles that became synonymous with hip-hop culture in the 1980s, a particularly fitting reference given Boobie's links to Vice Citys music scene. While the exact frame hasn't been confirmed, there are strong similarities to designs such as the Cazal Hip-Hop 616/3 and Cazal Hip-Hop 607/3, both of which combine statement proportions with the distinctive gold detailing that makes Cazal eyewear so recognisable. 

Dunhill 6190 Sunglasses