I Wear My Sunglasses at… Fashion Shows
Celebrities and designers made it clear that sunglasses are a must- have accessory during fashion month.
Fashion month just wrapped up, during which many front-row celebrities and designers wore sunglasses before, during and after the show. They view eyewear as more than an accessory, but also part of their outfit or a reflection of their own personality.
Arianna Mereu, a professor of strategic foresight and trend forecasting at Florencebased fashion institute Polimoda, said luxury brands are positioning sunglasses as a cool designer purchase, shifting the trend from before when “young fashionistas had the tendency to buy ‘selfie-worthy' and ‘entry-price' sunglasses from the so-called ‘social brands.'”
Interest in statement eyewear is also
Pierpaolo Piccioli
► CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF VALENTINO Piccioli wears sunglasses for the same reason that he dresses in black. “It helps me to keep distance from what I do,” said the designer, who took his runway bow in his signature black shades. They help him feel “a bit more protected.”
Victoria Beckham CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF VICTORIA BECKHAM
Victoria Beckham said that she wears sunglasses “because there are a lot of paparazzi, it’s like your armor. I don’t wear them inside, but I do wear them every day. I’ve always loved sunglasses, I’ve had them in the collection from the beginning, and I love how if they are the right shape, they can finish off even the simplest of outfits. It’s the last thing I put on before I leave the house. I have so many! Lots I put in storage, that’s why I have the best job in the world.” fanned by the popularity of the '90s and the Y2K aesthetic, associated with sunglass-wearing music stars such as Madonna, the Spice Girls and Justin Timberlake, Mereu noted.
She concluded stating that “with social media omnipresence and selfies, our face is center stage, and everything that is face adornment is gaining huge importance again: Statement sunglasses are a great media for authentic and creative selfexpression, another super important trend nowadays.”
WWD asked designers and showgoers about their choice to be shaded and how sunglasses made them feel. Here's what they said: ▼
I NFLUENCERS
“For us, sunglasses are a huge part of fashion. Thus, whenever we style ourselves, sunglasses accentuate our fashion, highlight our looks and even complete our styling, serving an important role in finishing our outfits.”
Amber Valletta ► MODEL
“I like wearing glasses sometimes at shows for a few reasons. Sometimes it just makes the look complete. Sometimes it’s a way to sort of hide, especially when you have clothing that might be more exposed. Less intimate. They definitely give me a sense of distance from others as eyes are mirrors to the soul. It’s a little self protective in some ways. But as soon as I start speaking to someone I know, I usually remove them.”