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Color. Suddenly it's selling. Gone are the days when black and tortoise sunglass frames were the ruling styles of the day. A random spot check across the nation reveals that consumers are craving sunwear that comes in every shade of the rainbow. Lloyd Kaye, merchandise director for fashion sunglasses at Sunglass Hut, observes: "Our sales bear out that it's the basics that are going by the wayside. Right now, novel products are what's sparking the consumer's interest and giving them a reason to buy. And the two novelty features that are selling right now at Sunglass Hut is anything with colored lenses and rimless looks."

Color cravings

In terms of which tints sell best in colored lenses, Kaye says that at Sunglass Hut, lavender is the strongest color, followed by rose, then blue in all its various shades. "Gradient lenses with pinks turning to gray, brown turning to rose, and gray turning to lavender are also on fire at Sunglass Hut," he notes. What's more, Kaye says that getting consumers to buy colored sunwear is as easy as enticing a kid into a candy store. "Vivid-hued eyewear pops in windows and caselines, capturing the consumer's attention more easily than a sea of black and brown frames do."

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Bill Roach, co-owner of Robert Marc opticians in New York City, agrees, "Part of the initial draw is that these lens colors-like apple green and orange-are so vivid they literally whet the consumer's appetite to try them on." At Robert Marc, which has five locations in New York City, Roach says best-selling fashion tints are ocean blue, apple green, and terra cotta. In gradient lens colors, the top sellers are baby blue, soft grays, and frosted greens. He adds, "They're popular with a bit of a flash mirror, like the new fashion tints featured in Silhouette's Titan Minimal Art Collection."

Kaye at Sunglass Hut confirms that flash-mirrored gradient lenses are selling strong as well. "But it's a very subtle flash mirror coating, not the extreme flash mirror coatings from years past," he points out. On the West Coast, at Rims and Goggles in San Francisco, Homer Owner, O.D., says he's also doing a good business in fashion-tinted lenses with just a hint of a flash mirror. His strongest selling colors are orange, green, blue, and plum-in that order. "I bought heavily into tinted frames because they make a strong fashion statement. And I believe one of the best ways to combat lost sales due to laser surgery is by promoting eyewear more as a fashion accessory and less as a medical necessity," he attests. Owner says he has also done very well with Chanel and Prada rimless sunwear frames.

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Rimless rules

In fact, at Sunglass Hut, the bestselling sunglass frame of the moment is the Gucci rimless shield #2448 that comes in terra cotta, green, and plum. "We are getting 15 percent weekly sell-throughs on this frame, which retails for $170," says Kaye. "Oversize shields are selling big time here in Florida," says Jackie Amar, owner of Point of View, which has four locations in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Westbury, N.Y., and in Dallas, Texas. "Certain styles, like Prada, are always out of stock," he says. Amar trains his staff to tell customers that the bigger, bolder sunglasses also offer greater UV protection, which is a big issue in Florida.

Roach of Robert Marc counters, "Right now there are two extremes going on: Bold looks, like exaggerated rimless shields, and the invisible look which is rimless three-piece mounts. He adds, "In shapes, any geometric frame, except oval, is doing well. The line is blurring more and more between what women are wearing and what men are wearing. However, when it comes to the aviator frame, there are no gender boundaries."

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"Bigradient color, gold metal, embellishments like rhinestones, rimless shields, and aviators are the five key trends that are driving the sunwear business right now," Kaye maintains. "So if you want to do a strong sunglass business, make sure you are showcasing all five of these key trends." 
Amar of Point of View maintains: "You can give me an old aviator from the seventies, and I will sell out of it as if it were a brand new model-that's how well aviators sell."

Metal vs. plastics

In New York City, Roach believes tints, flash mirrors, and oversized zyls are the key sunglass trends. That is why his stores are doing so well with big, bold plastics. At Sunglass Hut, Kaye says selling data shows that 54 percent of fashion sunwear sold is in plastics, and metal frames represent 39 percent of sales (the remaining 8 percent comprises combination and rimless styles.)

"Colored double laminates in navy and burgundy are selling very well in San Francisco," confirms Owner. "What's more, they look great on the shelf."

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"The bigradient trend in metals is being carried over into plastics with many plastic frames matching the bigradient color of the lenses. This tonality theme is key," Kaye adds.

"I think the demand for colored lenses has replaced the demand for the tired looking gunmetal styles we had for too long." But Kaye also believes that gold metal styles have yet to reach their full selling potential. "Gold metal frames are just starting to get hot," he says.

Spring ahead

Looking ahead for spring, Kaye believes color will continue to be important. "We've bought a lot of bigradients in blues and greens. Shields are going to be scaled down so that more people can wear them.

Similarly, Owner sees more manufacturers offering modified aviators that flatter more faces. "It's about taking extreme looks like huge shields and bold aviators and scaling them down so that more people can feel comfortable wearing these fashion-forward looks."

Concludes Amar, "When I fit people with a pair of sunglasses I feel as though I'm giving them a makeover. The main objective is to give them updated sunwear that makes them look good." EB

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