For this summer’s eyewear, bigger is better, it seems, as face-shielding styles dominated the collections – from Phoebe Philo’s enormous ‘Bombé’ sunglasses to Miu Miu’s colourful goggle-like frames, and the armour-like eyewear at Saint Laurent, which captured a louche, 1980s-inflected sensuality.
These enveloping, mask-like frames make for the perfect summer eyewear, repelling not only the sun, but the world at large after one of those mornings after the night before. The Georgian designer Demna, current creative director of Gucci, channelled this hedonistic mood in his debut runway show for the Italian house, evoking 2000s Hollywood starlets in his own subculture-infused style. ‘Unapologetically sexy, extravagant and daring,’ he said of the mood, seeing smudged eyeliner, body-contouring minidresses and louche tailoring accessorised with shielding black shades.
Here, the Wallpaper* style editors pick eight of the best shield sunglasses to accessorise your summer – from the ultra-oversized to the sporty and streamlined.
Appearing as part of Demna’s debut runway show for Gucci, these mask-like shades are the equivalent of tinted windows – you can see the world; they can’t see you. Inspired by the house’s 1990s reinvention under Tom Ford, they capture a hedonistic, morning-after-the-night-before spirit.
At her eponymous label, Phoebe Philo remains a master of the must-have eyewear – her tenure at Celine spawned styles so memorable that they remain replicated today. These Bombé sunglasses make the case for the ultra-oversized frame: channelling a 1970s spirit, the oversized acetate frames and tinted lenses have a nostalgic, smoky finish.
One of this summer’s most ubiquitous styles, versions of Saint Laurent’s ‘Howl’ sunglasses appeared on the runway at Anthony Vaccarello’s S/S 2026 men’s and women’s shows for the Parisian house. Boldly oversized, their pillowy acetate frames recall the heady 1980s glamour of house founder Yves Saint Laurent’s heyday.
Miu Miu’s ‘Ivresse’ sunglasses first appeared as part of the house’s S/S 2026 collection, where they were paired with aprons and pinafores in the kind of playful juxtaposition for which Miuccia Prada is known. With streamlined arms and embossed Miu Miu branding, they come in a multitude of pop-coloured hues.
The name of these ‘Scudo’ sunglasses by Bottega Veneta translates from Italian as ‘shield’ or ‘protection’ – an apt moniker for what are perhaps the largest style on the list. The mask-like shades come with clear acetate frames, each handmade in Japan.
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s debut show for Loewe was about ‘clarity and colour, sensual physicality, and sunniness’, said the American designers, formerly of Proenza Schouler. These ‘Speed Shield’ sunglasses epitomised the mood: an amped-up version of the visor sunglasses worn for sport, they come with a flash of colour on the frames.
Michael Rider’s tenure at Celine has been defined by reworking the tenets of a classical wardrobe, though the American designer also throws in a handful of bolder accessories – from foot-bearing flip-flops and charm-like belts, to these moulded, mask-like sunglasses. Futuristic in style, the frameless lenses are adorned with the house’s signature Triomphe monogram.
Los Angeles-based eyewear brand Jacques Marie Mage is known to be the Rolls-Royce of sunglasses – each pair uses premium acetate and is made by hand in Japan (hence the price tag). This face-covering pair is an homage to director Stanley Kubrick and his definitive work 2001: A Space Odyssey.