Geometric for maximum functionality but with an elaborate aesthetic or 'encrusted' on frames covered in a wide range of materials, including crystals, pearls, semi-precious stones and recycled materials.
The eyewear of 2024 will alternate between conscious innovation, functional style, unconventional and fashion forward color palettes.
These are the trends developed by WSGN anticipated by Mido, the world eyewear exhibition, at FieraMilano (February 4-6).
Over a thousand exhibitors from 154 countries, the return of Asia and the arrival of new companies, with a market that has returned to pre-pandemic levels (preliminary results for 2022, Italian production was 5.17 billion euros, +24% compared to 2021, exports +22.5%).
Objective customization, uniqueness, materials and shapes of the glasses, the inspiration revolves around five themes.
The first, Metaverse Metals, from immersive, imaginative virtual reality, which inspires hypnotic, almost psychedelic metallic tones with innovative welds, futuristic finishes,
evocative shadows and nuances.
Encrusted instead focuses on 'Hyper Texture' futurism, which gives life to encrusted surfaces fused with solid forms, for an ornamental, charming trend.
The third theme, Volcanic, generates colors and materials that recall volcanic, incandescent surfaces, inspired by the desert, fire, molten metal, the colored lenses recall the flow of lava, using pigments from the "earth-friendly" production process " and sustainable.
Romantic but gritty, the Pink Diamonds trend that perfectly embodies the expression "voir la vie en rose", seeing life through pink lenses: it no longer plays on cold diamond transparencies, but on iridescent, melting reflections of pink, also using diamonds responsibly sourced natural
or recycled or laboratory-grown stones.
The latest, Scavenged Beauty, explores upcycling, or the reuse of waste materials to create new valuable objects, such as shells, translating into solid materials and intricate decorations or using ethically sourced shells or mother-of-pearls, then fused with stones and metals.
Whether they have the Slim Racer Frame shape, with thin, sporty lenses, reminiscent of racing ones, or Fashion Shield, for oversized models, real 'fashionable shields', eyewear will increasingly be the object of desire for innovative, unusual and surprising .
And Made in Italy, in particular, continues to conquer the world, as demonstrated by exports that have grown more than those of other European countries.
Both for various factors (such as weakness of the Euro,
the war) but above all due to the robust demand for Italian products from America which alone absorbed more than 36% of the entire exports of the eyewear sector, in particular prescription sunglasses (+ 23.2%).
Unfortunately, this is the message that comes from Mido based on the data of the National Association of Optical Article Manufacturers, for 2023 we need to be very cautious because what will dominate will be the increase in costs, for this sector as for all Italian manufacturing.
