Osman Ahmed reflects on the strange allure of wraparound eyewear and its era-specific connotations
Rubber Visor Sunglasses by Givenchy
Mirrored lenses, metallic accents, 100% UV protective
Givenchy’s iridescent wraparound sunglasses are pretty damn fly. Haven’t heard that expression in a while? Well, it’s time to brush up on your lingo because the 2000s are back, whether you like it or not, and with the return of the crystal-encrusted decade comes an assortment of its best (by that, we mean worst) sartorial motifs. Don’t believe us? This spring, Vetements is pushing candyfloss-hued velour, VPL included; London’s denim virtuoso Faustine Steinmetz paid homage to John Galliano’s hyper-logo monogram; even Caroline Herrera, the ultimate doyenne of propriety, sent an exquisitely boned medium-grade indigo ball gown gliding down the runway, unknowingly conjuring the image of Britney Spears’ and Justin Timberlake’s 2001 all-denim-everything looks. For those of us that were present, the trend is best approached with trepidation – if only out of well-founded fear of looking like Kylie Jenner (Kylie Minogue, on the other hand…).
A subtle nod to the 00s is a singular accessory. A Fendi baguette or a pair of metallic-leather Manolos are classics. Givenchy, for its part, is bringing back tinted lenses, which quite literally provide a rosy, if not caramel-hued, view of a time when Life was Simple, social media was foetal, and MTV still reigned supreme. Rest assured, Givenchy’s specs are far from the frameless, coloured styles (still) favoured by Bono, nor are they actually entirely nostalgic, but rather an altogether more futuristic, badass wraparound shape that is more Neo in The Matrix, than, say, Anastacia. The white rubberised arms and rims lend them skiing goggle-esque intensity, while the gold-tone frames simply beg to be worn with gargantuan hooped earrings and lashings of gold chains. Now there’s a look, in the words of Paris Hilton, that’s hot.
