Speaking to a packed presentation space on Saturday, February 1, at the Opti trade show in Munich, Selin Olmsted explained that she began producing an annual eyewear trends report a couple of years ago because she felt that, while general fashion trend reports did an excellent job, the eyewear featured was for the fashion runway rather than consumers.
‘Eyewear is a huge industry, worth perhaps $150bn and increasing as we speak,’ said Olmsted. ‘So, it deserves its own trend forecast report. To do this, we started looking at the big ideas that are coming to the fore in industries like architecture, interior design, fashion, music and art.’
The next step, Olmsted said, was to look at the fashion runways and ascertain how those big ideas were influencing the high fashion houses and emerging designers. From there, Olmsted assessed how runway fashion was being integrated on the street, primarily through style icons and celebrities.
The final stages of compiling the report involved tracking the wider trends into the eyewear industry and how they would affect shapes, details and colours in sun and optical frames. Then, identifying specific acetate and lens combinations that emphasise the trend.
Looking forward
For her Opti presentation, Olmsted went through each of the five trends for design and materials that she had identified for 2026, talking the audience through the macro level ideas before breaking them down to eyewear specifics. The first trend for 2026 discussed was sculptural.
‘Sculptural is about expressive volumes, bold curves and material experimentation,’ said Olmsted. ‘The related product is something like a designer chair, but it’s almost like a sculpture. It can be something you adore. You want to showcase it and keep it just because of the bevels and the surfacing. It is a celebration of craftsmanship and the artistry of design.’
This trend imagined eyewear as a wearable act and was associated with thick profiles, bold bevels, intricate millings and rich textures, such as tortoise, dominating.
The second trend identified for 2026 was sentimental. Olmsted noted that ‘this is all about personal messaging, being private and being genuine’, and that this was flourishing at the moment as a backlash of sorts against the filters and polish of social media profiles. Frame designs relating to this trend feature personal touches such as nostalgic elements, handcrafted details and playful designs to create emotional resonance and individuality.
Next up was punk quotidien, which Olmsted explained was more about a mindset of authenticity rather than traditional values associated with the punk subculture such as anti-consumerism.
‘This is a trend that’s more suitable for Gen Z customers. If you would like, as a business, to target and cater more towards the young adult customer, this trend and the cues from this trend would be a good way to go about it. It draws on underground elements, like the 1990s grunge scene, but the vintage effects are presented in a futuristic way.’
The last two trends identified were surrealism and ultralight. Surrealism involved unconventional shapes and dreamy details bringing eyewear into a world of imaginative expression.
‘We’ve just passed the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist Manifesto, which was led by Yvan Goll and Andre Breton,’ said Olmsted. ‘The concept is all about challenging your own reality and being playful and whimsical. Eyewear designers are doing this by things like having the outerwear shape of a frame clash with the lens shape. It makes people question whether the frame overall is geometric or round.’
Olmsted described ultralight, the fifth and final trend, as a quest for ultimate lightness with materials like titanium, 3D-printed elements, and high-density acetate to the fore.
‘These frames offer ultra-thin profiles, transparency layers, and precision engineering for a “barely there” feel,’ she said. ‘We’re going to see 3D printed materials become very popular, first in sports and then moving into lifestyle categories afterwards. But developments in acetate manufacturing like high-density acetate will be popular too.’
Material benefits
Across the various trends, Olmsted felt that acetate materials in 2026 would be retro-inspired tortoises, marble and horn textures, and layered gradients in neutral, tonal or vibrant palettes. Meanwhile, metal constructed frames are expected to feature dual colour finishes like inner gold and outer black, adding a fresh perspective to these popular shades.
As for lenses, Olmsted predicted that a major theme of 2026 will be customers seeking truly colourful lenses.
‘With gradients or double gradients, lenses can end up looking grey,’ she said. ‘Everybody will be looking for a lens that looks colourful on the white paper and colourful on the face too. This is because a colourful lens can be used almost as a cosmetic, particularly among women, and it’s a mood pick-up too. So, expect to see warm colours like tangerine and sandstone.’
