Mondottica’s spring/summer 2023 sunglass collections, featuring brands Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker, Karen Millen, Joules, Hackett and Scotch & Soda, reflects key trends this season, including: 1970s shapes; sustainable options; quirky, nostalgic styles with Y2K vibes; eye-catching temple detailing and summer pastel hues.
Retro 1970s
Ted Baker and Hackett are among brands that have embraced the aviator style. Ted Baker’s Maever model (left) has ruby-gradient lenses with a rose gold rim, which are made bolder by the wide, overarching top bar and bridge.
Rose flower detailing is engraved on the temples and is contrasted by a barrel shape that tapers off into wider rose-pink temple ends, finished off with its signature flower.
Hackett (right) opts for a retro, masculine aviator with blue faded lenses bordered by a dark tortoiseshell and silver rim. The frame’s thin top bar matches thin wire arms with tortoiseshell temple ends.
Oversized ‘bug-eye’ frames also dominated the 1970s look, with Scotch & Soda, Vivienne Westwood and Karen Millen providing some of the best vintage eye candy.
Vivienne Westwood showcased a dramatic, purple-gradient acetate (left), square-shaped frame with delicate, silver borders on the outer left and right sides with 3D embossing of Vivienne Westwood’s signature emblem of the orb and a globe surmounted by a cross.
Scotch & Soda also had several oversized frame shapes, including the Marina model (right) in gloss berry gradient colourway, with a sunset graduated lens. The bold acetate frame has a double layer front with an eye-catching frame-in-frame, overlapping effect, and a bespoke ripple core wire visible through the temple.
The negative space in the temples, and elsewhere in the brand’s collection, is a nod to the tramlines running through the streets of Amsterdam.
Y2K vibes
The most striking among the Y2K-inspired eyewear this season are Vivienne Westwood’s butterfly and heart-shaped sunglasses, which bring a creative and playful approach to summer eyewear suitable for any festival or garden party.
The rimless butterfly sunglasses (left) come in pink and blue faded lens colourways with a 3D emblem in place of rivets and on the temple. The wrap hinge allows a seamless transition into the metallic temple and acetate butterfly wing tip.
The heart-shaped Lovelace frames (right) have a blush to lilac graduated lens with tortoiseshell outer rim detailing, bronze rim and bronze temples with tortoiseshell acetate tips.
Sustainable styles
Vivienne Westwood and Joules eyewear are using Eastman’s Acetate Renew material, which reuses certified recycled content made from waste plastics diverted from landfill.
Joules has created a colourful line-up this season with contrasting colours on a round frame, temple and dark tint lenses, which offer 100% UVA and UVB protection and an option of prescription lenses.
Sunglass models include Honeysuckle (top, left) in burgundy tortoiseshell with solid fuchsia pink temples, and Beech (bottom, left) in floral print.
Vivienne Westwood’s 1970s oversized oval frames (right) stand out in ocean green and blue gradient colourway, with a wide bridge, green temples and a silver logo emblem.
Temple embellishments
Ted Baker’s bold Marie model (left) is available with a black, dark tortoiseshell or light peach front with tortoiseshell temple.
The sunglass has a square-shape with shaved hexagonal cuts, and a wide acetate temple that is broken up by gold geometric detailing then finished with an acetate tip.
Karen Millen showcased oval frames (right) in bright orange tortoiseshell acetate with soft rounded sides, and gold chain-link detailing on the slender temples with the Karen Millen branding.