From baby’s bibs to luxury handbags, it seems that everything these days has to have a designer logo attached to be socially acceptable. But have we taken the whole designer thing a little too far?
Although it would be fair to say we’ve moved beyond the designer-fuelled consumerism of the late 1980s and 90s, in the 21st century our desire for designer labels appears to have only been slightly abated.
After all, you only have to step inside the doors of one of the major retailers to see designer products from floor to ceiling with designer logos clamouring for your attention (and your dollars!)
One of the most successful designer merchandising exercises has been in the field of sunglasses, with every major European designer (as well as those lesser known mortals) producing a seasonal range of THE sunglasses you just have to have.
Or do you?
Sure, in the past cutting-edge European designers set the trends for each season, which we consumers slavishly followed, but it would be pleasing to think that in the 21st century our desire for bigger, better and more outrageous has been tempered by a cultural and economic shift in attitude.
Maybe this favourable shift in thinking comes as a result of a vastly overcrowded marketplace that prompts the question: Am I paying for the label or the design? Further, a $500 pair of Chanel designer sunglasses can be lost or broken just as easily as a $5 pair from the local supermarket.
What’s more, it’s now possible to buy a beautiful pair of cutting-edge designer sunglasses without the huge price tag from a wide variety of outlets.
Every kind of retailer from the local craft store owner to chic boutiques now stock a gallery of amazing designer sunglasses that look great and come at a fraction of the price of the better known “logo designers”.
In an age where flaunting one’s wealth is now viewed as slightly gauche, we should be asking ourselves “Does this design suit my face?” rather than “Does this logo suit my wallet?”
So, without pushing the point to the extreme, the traditional term designer sunglasses, which was long associated with aging, slightly camp, European designers with tricky names, has evolved into a new and refreshing variation on the theme; designer sunglasses now refers to funky, cutting-edge shapes that are made to suit individual faces, in the latest lightweight materials and a kaleidoscope of colours.
Better yet, these new-age designer sunglasses cost a great deal less than their European counterparts and are often superior or at the very least equivalent quality.
Both women’s and men’s sunglasses have evolved considerably in recent years and many of the current manufacturers are using the latest technology to produce designer sunglasses that are lightweight and flexible. One of the latest trends is sunglasses that can be folded flat to fit into a pocket, a small handbag or the glove box. How convenient is that?
So it makes good sense to look beyond the designer sunglasses we have traditionally believed represented the pinnacle in creativity and flair towards the up and coming 21st century designers who have integrated style, substance, design excellence and technologically advanced materials to create designer sunglasses your face and your wallet will love.