Words by Charlie Britton
Sunglasses are most definitely a seasonless accessory and here at Clothes Make The Man, we’re certain the warmer weather is a perfect excuse to update your eyewear armoury. From New York designers to Italian craftsmen, we’ve picked out 6 of the best design led, forward thinking sunglasses brands and ranges that should be on your essentials list this summer. Forget the norm and put down those Wayfarers gents, it’s time for an upgrade.
Otherwise known as ‘A Bathing Ape’, Japanese clothing brand Bape is most often associated with streetwear. As an ever-growing brand, Bape continues to produce iconic garments such as the ‘Shark Hoodie’ and designs such as ‘Bape Camo’ which can be seen in the streetwear scene across the world. Part of the Nowhere Co., Ltd company, Bape has now expanded its range to offer an edgy but contemporary collection of fashionable sunglasses and glasses frames, perfect for the summer season. Chunky silhouettes and round lensed frames make up part of the collection, with interesting textures and design details running throughout. It’s obvious that Bape has been very consistent as their clothing range is definitely reflected through their glasses design. If you fancy picking up a pair that’ll definitely turn heads this summer, you can shop their full range here.
Created to keep up with your pace and lifestyle, Movitra is an Italian glasses brand that produces some truly unique glasses. Fitted with a 360 movement system, Movitra glasses bend and twist each and every way to help prevent breakages. The design itself is very unique, making use of both contrasting half and half frames and lenses, depending on the style, which brings quite an interesting finish to these glasses. If you’re looking for some shades that wont stand in the shade this summer, you can find Movitra’s engineered eyewear here.
Another Italian made brand that has made our top 6 is Illesteva. This sunglasses brand started in 2010 and aims to design and produce sunglasses using classic shapes and styles with contemporary materials. Made in family-run factories in Italy, these glasses are designed in New York, carry a high standard of excellence and are made with simplicity and practicality in mind. You can shop the Illesteva collections here.
The brand name is as unique as the product with Grey Ant. A reinvention of the traditional style of glasses, Grey Ant reinterprets the shapes and silhouettes and produces some extremely interesting eyewear pieces for the modern man and woman. Hand made in Italy and Japan and produced in limited quantities, the brand lives up to their unique selling point of ensuring quality and individuality are paramount. You can view the whole range here.
Since its launch in 2012, Westward Leaning have grown to become one of the worlds leading independent sunglasses brands. Unisex, mirrored lenses and universally-flattering are the 3 things that best describe this brand as they create and produce some very well designed glasses that we really do love here at Clothes Make The Man.
Often recognised for their reflected lenses, Westward Leaning continues to develop and evolve into a remarkable eyewear brand and we cant wait to see what’s next. Check them out here for some serious sun-worthy sunnies.
The last to triumph in our top 6 is French eyewear brand Izipizi. Challenging the normal high pricing that sunglasses often carry, Izipizi is growing in popularity as they produce interesting, fashionable and good quality glasses at a price point to suit all. What’s more, all glasses from their reading, screen and sunglasses ranges are available to customise in regards to correctional lenses, so no more faffing down the local opticians replacing the stock lenses. Their current SS17 range has a huge variety of styles and shapes to chose from, so if you’re looking for an ‘easy-peasy’ pair of specs or glasses, Izipizi might just be the way to go. You can view the full range here.
On a final note, one of our editors recently collaborated with Farfetch on SS17 sunglasses piece where 6 bloggers and influencers picked out a pair of essential shades for the season. You can read all about it here.