Sunglasses Summer 2016 Trend Report

VonZipper Pyschwig

While most product groups have a clear seasonal distinction and more or less straightforward ordering systems, there is an exception to the rule: sunglasses. Which are sold through the year, on beaches, mountains and in cities, and for core clients as well as mainstream-passersby. And hence follow slightly different rules to meet that never seizing, always changing demand. This trend report will clear things up and give some insights into what we’ll be looking at in shops over the next couple of months. By Anna Langer.

Since sunglasses are an accessory that performs all year round, is needed in every season and basically fits into any shop concept, they ask for different processes than most categories that follow a seasonal pre-order model. Sunglasses roughly do too, but only Electric and Neff work on purely pre-order nowadays, most other brands also work with stock sales. Mainly due to increasing online sales, as David Cowan, Marketing at Melon states: “We do both – thanks to the significant activity on our online shop” and Dylan Roukous, CMO at Nectar Sunglasses also finds that their “online business is stronger than retail at this time” and hence works with pre-order and stock sales.

Dirty Dog, Proof, Zeal, Quiksilver, Spy, Roxy and Oakley work solely with stocks for their sunglasses, allowing them “to be more reactive and efficient within the market as we always have stock of the best sellers” says JP Bonnemason, Global Eyewear Product Manager at Roxy & Quiksilver, “Sunglasses are a unique field, so we have adopted a different way of ordering in this specialised distribution.”

TRENDS
The main trend for sunglasses is still the combination or integration of sports performance and stylish looks. “The key trend for Electric Fall/Winter 16/17 sunglasses collection is the OUTDOOR segment. We live at the intersection of style and performance,” says Trade & Retail Marketing EMEA, Maite Duport. Their S-Line adds grip pads, stronger, thinner, lighter frames and dedicated performance lens coatings to some of their most popular styles. Dragon Sales & Marketing Manager EMEA Craig Smith’s reading from the same hymn sheet: “Tech in our eyewear is a huge focus for us,” saying they are adding more colours and styles to their H2O Floatable collection, as well as their Adaptable XP (Cross Performance) Range. Zeal feel a “growing need in the market to provide additional stylish lifestyle pieces that don’t compromise function or performance while maintaining our commitment to environmental responsibility,” says Marketing Specialist Nate Hrivnak, and POC, Quiksilver, Spektrum, Spy, VonZipper and Shred focus on the “perfect combination of style and performance” too.

When it comes to fashion, “round and oval shapes” (Brunotti) are still popular, especially with “thin acetate or metal” (Roxy). VonZipper introduce two new women’s models with round shapes, Cheapo combine them with mirror lenses, Proof love “funkier retro silhouettes” and Spy experiment too, yet admit that “round shapes still have trouble gaining sales traction, but are a great talking piece,” says Keith Asher, Spy’s Senior Eyewear Designer. Oakley also see that “on-trend customers currently love round shapes, but we still have an ongoing demand for our dynamic rectangular and square shapes,” says spokesman Hans Arnesen.

Retro-inspired square shapes are staying important for VonZipper and Quiksilver, “inspired by vintage bikers” since “many surfers are fond of custom bikes” explains Quik/Roxy’s JP. They also feature an Aviator shape and Carve “push back to classics” as well, with Club Master models that can also be found in Sinner’s collection. Wayfarers aren’t going anywhere either and are in lines from Carve, Dirty Dog, Neff, and Proof. Spektrum completely stick to classics with all four models of their very first sunglasses collection.

Making sure that things don’t get too boring, Oakley is introducing the Wind Jacket 2.0, “an oversized cylindrical shield that was engineered for snow use,” and Roxy incorporates a new flat lens, “a Korean inspiration adopted by all the fashion brands.”

Electric Maddison

COLOURS
Dirty Dog sport “bright two-tone frame colour-ways”, Melon feature “inside two-toned acetate frames,” and VonZipper combine “two different colours within the same frame” and “solid and translucid” colours, explains Pedro Fernandes, Brand Manager for Europe. POC feature a “new range of translucent frames,” Oakley do “crystal colours” and Spy also mention “translucents.” Roxy go for “matte crystal champagne”, Shred put “neutral colours on the frames and temples”, Ovan have “several earth tone spotted acetates,” and Zeal stick to “neutral-oriented, subdued patterns and tones.”

Electric combine a nude shade with the continuing tortoise trend that made a huge come back last year and is going to last for at least another season, with representations in almost all collections, including Smith, Sinner, Shred, and Brunotti. Spektrum feature “Havana tortoise”, VonZipper have “normal torts, shadow torts, demi torts,” Melon feature a “gloss terrapin” next to a “new take on traditional patterns with our aqua tortoise frames,” and Smith add “flecked green tortoise for men” and “flecked mulberry tortoise and matte tortoise shocking pink” for women.

Colour will probably never go out of style and even though the more sports-performance oriented models tend to “include loud, brighter colours”, as Zeal’s Nate explains, the overall focus on combining style and function means that there’s a bit of both in everything. Dirty Dog make it very easy for the customer to find what they’re looking for in separating their collection into the “Stealth & Anti-Stealth Range,” the latter of which brings “colour to the table in a big way, utilising bright, vibrant colourways on crystal frames” as Operations Manager Tom Lazarus states. Melon concentrate on “diversifying” colourways with “new takes on traditional patterns” and “limited edition prints.” Neff have “every colour of the rainbow available in the Daily Sunglass, including seasonal patterns (Pizza, Hot Sauce, Rasta)”, Ovan offer “two pop colours, yellow Havana and blue Havana for the bolder look”, Quiksilver and Roxy have tie dye, “artworks from the boardshorts/ bikini or outerwear collections” as well as a “glow in the dark collection” for kids. Spektrum rock a Mint colourway, Sinner have a few neon colours and Spy use “colour blocking to accent different materials and textures.”

Counterbalancing all this brightness, there are a lot of classic shades, in line with Dirty Dogs’ “anything goes as long as it’s Black” approach to their Stealth Range. Black gloss, polished and satin finish from Carve, Cheapo, Ovan, Sinner, Spektrum and VonZipper, sit next to matte versions from Brunotti, Carve, Cheapo, Dirty Dog, Smith, Electric and Melon.

LENSES
There’s not that much new when it comes to lens colours. Electric complete their “existing offer of grey, bronze and alpine” with “amber, rose, green and natural,” Spektrum favour “brown, green and smoke” and Carve go for “traditional grey, green and brown lenses” like most other brands. Revo and mirror lenses are still popular as well, especially with Carve, Brunotti, Dirty Dog, Melon, Neff, Proof, Spektrum and Sinner, although Hugo de Boo, Creative & Designer for Sinner thinks that “shiny lenses (revo) are getting less intense. More just a blue mirror for example,” like Dirty Dog, who add blue and red fusion to their emerald lens.

More innovation is found behind, or rather inside the lenses that are becoming more high tech every year. Polarized options are continuously gaining grounds with more models in collections from Brunotti, Quiksilver, and Roxy, or even completely polarized ranges like Nectar introduce. As do lenses that adapt to changing light situations and enhance vision, such as Spy’s Happy Lens and Smith’s ChromaPop. VonZipper are launching their “all new patented technology called ‘Wild Life Lenses’ which will create an all new visual experience by selectively absorbing light in the area where the eye is more sensitive, creating an energy boost as well as more comfort and clarity”. Zeal introduce their “AUTOMATIC LENS for 2016/17 – a high–performance style that combines photochromic technology and polarized protection into a single lens to provide a consistently improved visual experience despite what weather the day brings,” and Oakley transfer their Prizm™ technology to their sunnies range with the WindJacket 2.0. Shred use “Rapid Photo, which is built to instantly adapt to varying light conditions,” while Ovan features a “low-stress, high grade EMS Polyamide Nylon 6 lens” that “relaxes the eye while providing enhanced colour perception, impact protection, total UV protection and insanely clear optics thanks to fused polarization,” explains Vice President Joel Kramer. Electric infuse their lenses with Melanin (‘Optical Health through Melanin’) to “block harmful UV & HEV blue light relaxing your eyes and providing vivid, crisp, clear, haze free vision,” and also Quiksilver’s mineral glass polarized lenses aim to enhance “eye comfort”.

For frames, Grilamid and Acetate are still the main materials, but there are more eco-friendly alternatives emerging. Next to the plant-based Evolve by Smith and Z-Resin from Zeal, they include cotton-based acetate, recyclable aluminium and wood from Proof, bamboo and “100% recyclable CX” from Sinner and a new “polymer formulation based on high crystalline polyamide, which is derived from a natural oil” in the NoWeight™ line from Shred, that uses “structural engineering” to “minimize the amount of material used while maximizing the stability and performance.”

Quiksilver Summit