Specs appeal: 5 eyewear designers to walk the runway in 2023
With 2023’s Paris fashion week fast approaching, luxury brands are preparing for fashion’s most futuristic year yet, packed with AI-enhanced clothing, Matrix-inspired style and boxy, geometric silhouettes.
As high-end fashion houses hibernate and prepare to reveal their newest pieces on the runway, it’s time to get excited about some of the statement accessories tipped to rule the runway this season.
One style trend expected to dominate in 2023 is high fashion specs and luxury shades. As celebrities like Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian continue to hit the red carpet in a set of signature specs, some of the runway’s most influential looks this year will have frames at the centre of focus.
As we prepare for a new season of spring/summer catwalk trends, here are five eyewear designers to look out for on the runway in 2023.
Celine
Hedi Slimane’s autumn/winter 2022 collection for Celine saw stylish shades take centre stage.
In the luxury fashion house’s newest ‘Dans Paris’ show, Celine’s use of the “minimal-meets-maximal nature of French style” captured a new era of classic Parisian fashion, where rounded shades, gold-rimmed frames and Celine’s Triomphe eyewear collection were bought back into focus.
The numbers speak for themselves. Since the premiere of ‘Dans Paris’ Google trends recorded a significant spike in searches for ‘Celine sunglasses’
After receiving positive reception, it’s no surprise that experts predict that Celine could centre their 2023 runway around french classic frame styles. From classy cat eyes to a rounded eyewear design, Celine will promote effortless elegance with their 2023 eyewear collection.
Coco & Breezy
While luxury fashion houses tend to dominate fashion week, one of the smaller names influencing the future development of high-end eyewear is US brand Coco and Breezy.
Founded by designers Corianna and Brianna Dotson, Coco and Breezy aims to walk the runway in 2023 with a message in mind. “For us, the way that we create our eyewear is really by doing market research and creating to the best of our abilities [frames] that are universal for everybody,” say Corianna and Brianna. “It’s very important for us to showcase that luxury doesn’t only look European. Luxury looks all types of ways,” they say.
After attending 2022’s Vision Expo as the only black-owned and focused eyewear retailer, they are determined to remove race and gender stigmas from their luxury pieces and influence a future of high-end inclusivity.
Koché
This high-end French womenswear label brought the Matrix to Paris fashion week in 2022. After showcasing long-line leather coats, futuristic hair and makeup, and thin, Neo inspired shades,
Koché got the fashion world talking.
Creating an “apocalyptic atmosphere” in the renowned AccorHotels Arena, the brand debuted its Cobalt line in partnership with designer Thierry Lasry, finished with a flat-fronted, 80s-style shape.
This year, we’re looking forward to more futuristic styles, streetwear-inspired shades and colourful couture on the runway.
Karen Wazen
Could influencers make the runway in 2023? TikTok sensation and Dubai-based influencer Karen Wazen is taking the spec world by storm with her newest eyewear release.
Already styled by the likes of Demi Lovato and Kourtney Kardashian, Wazen’s take on classic frame styles combines fast fashion trends with high fashion luxury.
The question is, could we see her pair with luxury fashion houses this summer? With over 5.9 million followers on Instagram, her fans will most definitely be listening out for her name on the catwalk.
Gentle Monster
Fashion eyewear could take a technological turn on the runway this year if Gentle Monster has anything to do with it.
The Korean eyewear brand has collaborated with frequent runway walkers Alexander Wang and Fendi, but they plan to walk themselves with their newest dip into high-fashion AR specs.
Enhancing a user’s surroundings while still looking fashionable, Gentle Monster’s luxury immersive aids could deliver a technologically charged future of fashion. In partnership with Chinese tech giant Huawei, could we see tech on the runway in 2023?
“It drives consumers in. People who are not even thinking about buying eyewear are drawn into the stores with our robots and our displays,” says Gentle Monster’s CEO Hankook Kim.
As we step into a new style season, the eyewear industry is definitely one to look out for as we prepare to watch designers walk the runway. From french classics to unisex design to a technological tomorrow, the possibilities are endless for 2023’s accessory trends.
xoxo
