High-end designer sunglasses such as Chanel and Gucci are "selling like free tickets to the movies," isle distributor Dean Bamer says. The larger the designer logo, the hotter the frames, he adds.
"Sunglasses are the hottest single fashion item in fashion today. People buy large-designer-logo sunglasses as headbands. They're not even worn on the face," says Bamer, president of Vista Inc., exclusive Hawaii distributor for the Safilo Group. Safilo of New York, world's largest designer and maker of designer eyewear, produces Gucci, Gianfranco Ferre, Polo Ralph Lauren, Laura Biagiotti and other lines.
The trend is toward large plastic frames in bright colors, such as amber, peach, white, signature midnight blue, and multicolored animal prints for Gucci; royal blue, gunmetal and bone for Polo; and exotic animal prints for Ferre.
"There's a myriad colors and in-between shades," Bamer says. "Many styles come in 10 to 15 shades of red, with names like Fantasy Havana. White is a really stronger fashion color coming in the large plastics. We call it the Jackie O look; that's the one making Gucci famous right now.
Designer-logo sunwear is available at many stores, from A Big Eyewear Emporium/Sunglass Boutique and Liberty House, to some 30 Waikiki stores, such as DFS duty-paid level, The Eyecatcher, and Shades of California.
The price tag? From $90 for Gucci to $215-plus for top of the line Chanel and Ferre. Bamer says isle sales of high-end designer eyewear run in the tens of millions of dollars yearly, largely by Japanese visitors.
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