Elton John Designs Affordable Eyewear Line Inspired by His Signature Frames: 'Walk Down Memory Lane'

The icon tells PEOPLE his glasses have always been a "symbolic" reflection of "how I feel and what I want to portray creatively in that moment"

Photo: Ben Gibson

Elton John has been incorporating rhinestone-covered oversize glasses into his over-the-top, gender-fluid style for years. And now, the pop rock icon is bringing his signature accessory to the masses with a new line at Sam's Club and Walmart.

The Grammy winner's glasses collection aptly named, Elton John Eyewear, was inspired by his iconic outfits and chart-topping career — and designed by John himself.

"Creating Elton John Eyewear has been a labor of love and an incredible personal journey through my career and the fashion that brought me center stage with every performance. My eyewear has always been a bit symbolic for me, it's been a true reflection of how I feel and what I want to portray creatively in that moment," John tells PEOPLE exclusively.

He continues: "I've always been very involved in bringing my stage and personal style to life. Now, instead of reaching for another designer's creation, I have my own! It's incredible to see this finally come to life and to be able to share it with my fans around the world."

Ben Gibson

The line-up features three different collections: The Foundations Collection, an evergreen line featuring 60 prescription, non-prescription, sun and reader frames, available in Sam's Club Vision Centers nationwide and samsclub.com today and at Walmart later this week for $95-$100.

The two other lines (also coming to Sam's Club) consists of The Capsule Collection, which is "designed for collectability" and showcases Elton John's musical journey through different capsules. As well as The Master Collection, which are recreations from the singer's personal collection, and will come in limited quantities starting at $350.

"My eyewear archives provided a great deal of inspiration to us when we sat down to create the frames. It's an extensive collection, and there's a story behind every pair, particularly the capsule collections we'll launch later this year," John tells PEOPLE. "They're chapters in my career."

Sean Thomas

The singer and his longtime love husband David Furnish named each frame after a career milestones or sentimental moment in John's life. To name a few? "Rocketman," A-List" and "Prodigy." From product names and silhouettes, to vibrant colors and elevated gemstones, John says, "creating this collection has been a walk down memory lane for me."

Even more than bringing fun to fans' wardrobes, the collection also gives back in a big way. Purchases from the line benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which increases HIV education and awareness. Walmart Inc. also announced it will donate a minimum of $1 million annually from the Elton John Eyewear collection to support the foundation.

"There's some vulnerability that comes along with creating and sharing your work with the world but building my eyewear line was important to me and the future of the foundation. It's a legacy venture that I hope my fans love," he adds.

Sean Thomas

Unsurprisingly, the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road artist says he's been asked to collaborate on an eyewear collection before, but this partnership felt right because it gave him the opportunity to bring "affordable luxury to people across the world."

"I want everyone that wears our frames to express their own confident, colorful spirit. I love color and you see that in my clothing and eyewear. We turned the volume up with our frames, using color in unique ways. I love deep ocean blue lenses, and we used those for our 'A-List' model — designing bold, geometric shapes with pink translucent materials... It's incredible to see this dream being realized."

Shop the Elton John Eyewear collection at samsclub.com today.