Trendwatch
Platinum Power
Why silver flash mirror sunwear is becoming the defining eyewear among trendsetters
By Marcy Bruch
Photography by Peter Baker

Lately, clear-gray, gradient flash mirror eyewear is everywhere: You see it on New Yorkers popping in and out of stores along Fifth Avenue. The young and chic of Miami's South Beach wear it while frolicking under the Florida sun as well as when dancing inside the dimly lit caverns of nightclubs. It can be worn as sunwear, prescription eyewear, clubwear, or all of the above rolled into one. Even though this look first made its debut more than a year ago, the trend shows no signs of slowing down.

Top to bottom: Cat-eye three-piece rimless mount, Missoni style 0195, for Neostyle; Rectangle three-piece rimless mount, Maurice Malone style I Know, for Moja Design; Clear plastic wrap, Dolce & Gabbana style DG7385, for Marcolin; Small oval crystal plastic, Wink style Freeze

CELEBRITY FACTOR

"It doesn't hurt when someone like Brad Pitt is splashed all over the covers of magazines wearing them," notes Jennifer Mitchum, an optometrist for 20/20 Vision Associates in Riverside, Calif. "I believe the reason this trend has maintained its momentum is because so many celebrities are wearing this eyewear while being interviewed on talk shows, walking the red carpet during awards ceremonies, or singing in music videos. We get people coming here asking for eyewear that they've seen on a particular actor or musician all the time and the clear gradient flash mirror styles top the list."

Four to five pairs of gray gradient flash mirror sunglasses are sold weekly at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.'s Jazzy Eyes, says optician Bob Heller. "They appeal to a younger crowd--in their 20s and early 30s--many of whom buy two pairs, a darker pair to wear during the day as sun protection and a frame with lighter lenses to wear out at night."

While men tend to prefer aviator and three-piece mount frames in a deeper square shape, women gravitate to rectangular wraps and shields.

Heller says that when it comes silver flash gradients, he sells plano sunwear exclusively in status designer styles with retail prices ranging from $250 to $300. But buyers shouldn't overlook the potential of offering these lens looks in prescription eyewear. Selling photochromic, prescription eyewear with gray gradient lenses and flash mirror coating so the eyewear does double duty as sunwear and clubwear that's customized is the key to increased business for Alissa Fields, owner of Chicago's Eye Spy Optical.

"The photochromic lenses are $150, the silver flash mirror coating is $70, a single vision prescription is $80, and an average frame is $250. That totals up to be about a $500 sale. That's double the price of an average pair of plano sunglasses in a designer brand with clear gradient lenses and flash mirror coating," she says.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Where do frame buyers expect the silver flash trend to go from here? One clue, says George Lee, owner of The Nakedeye in New York City: "I've started to see interest in styles that have silver flash mirror lenses with frames that are in clear plastic rather than the predictable silver metal."

He continues, "An underground women's wear designer came in here the other day and bought a pair called Freeze from Wink that had a crystal plastic frame and flash mirror lenses. She had this pink-burgundy hair and wore these unusual pants...She definitely looked funky and ahead of the fashion times. That made me realize maybe this is the logical direction to take this trend to the next step."