The Best New Sunglasses of 2020 (So Far)

Persol x Stone Island

At the pinnacle of Italian craftsmanship, Stone Island enters the world of luxury sunglasses with long-time eyewear staple Persol. The collaborative design itself emerges straight out of the '70s from Persol's archives, perfectly melding the forward-thinking vision of Stone Island with Persol's legacy of precision.

In the early design stages, Persol's visionaries discovered the actual machine used to create the frame 50 years ago in its vaults, so naturally they recommissioned the vintage contraption for the collaboration. With an authentic, timeless touch, the classic silhouette stands out with a hand-brushed metal bridge and light blue polar lenses with the respective brand logos engraved on each.

Styles will available at Stone Island and Persol.com starting September 29th for $495.

First seen on the runway during London Fashion Week in February, the MYKITA + MM6 Maison Margiela frames are the ideal avant-garde accessory that will undoubtedly complete any contemporary-leaning look. Inspired by the House's concept of circularity in the AW20 collection, the statement-making, oversized yet ultralight sunshield models welcome a new era of high-fashion eyewear and 3D manufacturing technology. Arriving in the label's signature color palette of white, nude, black and blue, each sleek design boasts a multitude of elevated styling options.

Available at Mykita.com

Developed by Lugano-based eyewear company Akoni, Balmain's latest sunglasses collection calls on the legacy of the Parisian fashion house, referencing Pierre Balmain's signature medallions with tasteful gold touches. The label welcomes five new styles — the thick-framed B-I model, the contemporary and feminine B-II style, the "less-is-more" 1914 frames, the steampunk-esque O.R. design and the dramatically oversized Wonder Boy sunglasses — but there's one iteration that creative director Olivier Rousteing claims as his favorite.

"My entire team could spot my love for that unique model at each and every stage of the development — which is why they decided to name it 'Wonder Boy,'" he notes in a statement. "And, yes, it's that style that I slip on every morning."

Available at Balmain.com

American fashion label Woolrich linked up with contemporary Italian eyewear brand RETROSUPERFUTURE for this cross-cultural sunglasses collection. Woolrich's archival Buffalo Check detailing decorates three of RSF's most sought-after shapes: the Flat Top, a clean-cut model with a straight upper line, the Ciccio, a style popular for its curvy and strong structure, and the America, a frame characterized by its rectangular lenses and exaggerated temple tips. The legacy print is featured in the interior of each frame in varying iterations of red, blue and black, providing a subtle-yet-sufficient melding of the two brand's claim-to-fame styles.

Available at RetroSuperFuture.com

Anna Sui's Summer 2020 eyewear collection with Mondottica is a fanciful kaleidoscope of dreamy pastel additions. Several renditions of classic silhouettes speak to the label's timeless sophistication, but two show-stopping models are definitely stealing our attention — the Butterfly, which takes literal inspiration from its name with wing-shaped eye shapes, and the Aviator, which calls on pastel tints for a warm take on a signature frame. The colorscape spans from an inviting blush to a light pistachio, providing a wide range of stylistic flair with the ideal pops of color.

Available to shop at AnnaSui.com

Versace's latest eyewear collection exudes the kind of unabashed opulence we've come to associate with the glitzy Italian brand. Each state-of-the-art frame is enriched with an array of house codes — the Medusa line sees three-dimensional Swarovski crystals on one model and a gold halo emblem on another, while the Barocco-influenced Virtus range offers a legendary V-shaped hardware on the arms of new cat-eye, square and rectangular eye-shapes. Each of these rich designs are certainly worthy of a double-take.

Available now at Versace.com

Christian Cowan's trademark, high-wattage designs take on an entirely new form with his first venture into eyewear: a head-turning collaboration with the Australian eyewear brand Le Specs. Within the capsule, the fanciful English designer introduces four new frames: Watch Out, which boasts a glistening watch strap hardware atop both frames, The Calabasas, an athletically oriented style with jagged angles and luxe detailing, SheEO, a revolutionary cat-eye silhouette with accentuated proportions, and HBIC, a goggle-reminiscent design with soft curves and sharp angles.

"I was inspired by my Spanish heritage, where everyone is always at the beach; diving, surfing, tanning," says Cowan in a statement. "I took that and fused it with the world of Instagram — its excessiveness and flashiness. Think sporty, sexy, boss."

Available now at LeSpecs.com

In the heat of the summer, Italian fashion label Etro tapped Carrera Eyewear for a retro, unisex capsule collection, and it's certainly one to reach for. Revamping the signature Carrera Champion frames, this collector's edition collaboration utilizes lightweight-yet-durable Optyl and drop-shaped tinted lenses for a playful construction. Even better, the six offered colorways of lemon yellow, intense red, candy pink, forest green, night blue and shiny black make for the ultimate stand-out accessory.

See more at Etro.com

Photos courtesy of brands