Shimmering Shades: Fendi Brings Diamond-Studded Sunglasses to Fashion Week
Shining diamond spectacles have been favored by the chic elite, from Italian fashion house Fendi to Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams.
Roman fashion house Fendi looked to the future for its Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 runway presentation during Paris Fashion Week and punctuated the space-age inspiration for the collection with diamond-studded sunglasses. The future’s so bright, you’ve got to wear shades – natural diamond shades, to be exact.
With unique, sculpted silhouettes, the futuristic diamond-embellished eyewear sweeps over cheekbones and the ridges of the nose, dramatically forming around the face. With the help of LVMH eyewear partner Thélios’ craftsmanship, Fendi’s Artistic Director of Jewelry, Delfina Delettrez Fendi conceptualized the ‘Singular Vision’ fine jewelry eyewear.
Measurements for the distinctive glasses were achieved through facial scans, allowing the structure of the eyewear to be bespokely molded and tailored to the individual’s face. Elevated by 18-karat white gold and encrusted with white diamonds, the flashy and blinged-out shades will reportedly retail for approximately $30,000.
Artistic director Kim Jones discussed the influences that informed his creative choices with WWD, noting his deep love for the epic sci-fi film franchise, Star Wars. “It’s a little bit spacey,” he said of the collection. In an official release from the brand, the designer paid homage to his late, great predescesor. “I was thinking about Karl Lagerfeld’s futurism with Fendi,” Jones explained.
Delettrez Fendi was named Artistic Director of Jewelry for her family’s fashion house in 2020. This winter, Only Natural Diamonds sat down with the jewelry designer to chat about her career evolution. “I decided to explore the category of jewelry that was almost unknown to Fendi, maybe unconsciously to find my own path,” she said. “Now, to be here at Fendi as artistic director of jewelry gives me the opportunity to bring in all my know-how learned in many years of founding my own brand and launch new adventures, adding new pictures to the family album.”
As we know, three makes a trend. Musician, producer, and Creative Director of Menswear of Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams has been rocking diamond sunnies since his collaboration with LVMH-owned luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. He revealed his first bespoke design in 2022. The custom 18k gold stunners were made with 61 round brilliant diamonds, totaling over 25 carats. The horizontally aligned pear-shaped lenses were topped off with two glittering green emeralds at the ends. Swiftly becoming a staple in his wardrobe, Pharrell adorned the glasses on several occasions, like the launch of his skincare brand Humanrace at Selfridges, the Kenzo runway show during Paris Fashion Week, and the 2023 Grammy Awards.
At his debut Louis Vuitton runway presentation in June of 2023, Pharrell showed off a second pair of Tiffany’s diamond-studded sunglasses. With smaller, egg-shaped lenses, the custom gold shades were embellished with over 80 baguette and round natural diamonds, weighing in at approximately 20 carats.
Trendsetter, tastemaker, and overall cultural icon, Beyoncé incorporated natural diamond-studded sunglasses into her repertoire during her Renaissance World Tour this summer, with Tiffany & Co. as the tour’s official jeweler. As a brand ambassador for the jewelry house, Beyoncé was treated to some of the most exceptional diamond accessories anyone could ask for, including the custom Tiffany Victoria diamond sunglasses.
