I was recently asked what was my favorite thing about eyewear.  Picture this: there was a moment somewhere in time that a great hero in the optical world decided he or she would make that little wire rimmed pair of glasses they had to wear look different.  They decided to change up the design of their glasses and make them more unique, more personal, more artistic.  In that moment, the idea that has blurred the line of glasses as a medical device versus a fashion accessory was born.  Braces, casts -- other medical devices never made it to true fashion status like eyewear, and our international obsession with glasses as wearable art is continuing to deliver fashion moments that make us perfectly content to be a little imperfect in eyesight and thus needing a new pair, of course.

The Optiprism sunglasses by Max Mara (Safilo) via

Celebrating this glorious marriage of function and fashion in ophthalmics, this year's collaboration between fashion house Max Mara and artist Maya Hayuk was a perfect melding of the minds.  The New York based artist was originally tasked with designing art to be featured on the Italian fashion brand's sunglass packaging, but the colorful patterns she created quickly became inspiration for the sunglasses themselves.  Her work is a reimagination how prisms reflect and bend light (the very concept behind how glasses work). The prismatic pops of color and shapes now appear on a 200 piece limited edition collection, signed by the artist herself!

"Optiprism" by Maya Hayuk via

Originally Hayuk's art was meant for the glasses packaging, but the print inspired Max Mara designers so much they have featured it in a limited edition run of sunglasses as well. via

The artist, Maya Hayuk standing in front of her artwork, "Optiprism" and wearing the Max Mara sunglasses she inspired.  via

Nonprescription reading glasses can get a bad rap -- you've seen the turnstiles at the drug store featuring bland "unisex" frames in uninspiring silver metal or black.  But wearing over the counter reading glasses doesn't have to be a fashion sentence of doom.  Today we're interviewing Angie Stocklin, Co-Founder and COO of Readers.com. Several years ago I started following Angie on Pinterest and found her to be a constant source of eyewear fashion! I was repining nearly everything she posted.  Here's her take on the best ways to let over the counter reading glasses become a stylish part of your wardrobe.

Bookworm

Brit

We all know that we need sunscreen to protect our skin, but sunglasses are just as much if not more of a vital part of your battle against UV damage, cancer, and premature aging and wrinkles. Wearing sunglasses is one of the only ways you can help reduce your risk of blinding conditions like ocular tumors, cataracts, and macular degeneration.  Not to mention the fact that they are best way to protect your delicate eyelid skin from wrinkles and common skin cancers.  And the best thing about sunglasses?  Well they are fashionable of course too.  Just check out some of my favorites from Instagram:

"Florals? For Spring?  Groundbreaking."  Miranda Priestly may have said it best in The Devil Wears Prada, but the sentiment holds true for yet another spring season in 2015.  If you are thinking pastels and florals and pinks, you're in the right style-state of mind.  Eyewear is an extension of the designer's vision, and thus is also embracing pastels and pinks with a renewed focus.  Gone are the thick black zyl frames of the past 5 years -- I would go so far as to say those are officially out of fashion.  2015 is all about a more natural balance -- neutrals and soft pinks with thinner plastic frames or even light weight metals.  The bolder eyewear looks shown on the runway feature this same muted color palate but with tinted mirrored lenses to add a higher level of impact, or bold temple embellishment to create an exaggerated cat eye.  Look for architecture to be the way to make your statement in 2015 instead of loud color or overtly oversized shapes.

via

No stranger to embracing lady-like pinks, Kate Spade's spring/summer line features very light weight plastics with subtle metallic brow pieces. via

The same neutral and pale pink trends hold true for ophthalmics as seen in these Ace &Tate frames with very on-trend round eyepieces.  via

Want something a bit more bold?  You can't go wrong with rose-tinted mirrored lenses this season.  Keep the same color family for your frame and lens tint to make the biggest impact.  via

We are just entering spring, but already the fashion world is looking ahead to the best looks from designers launching this fall as the runway shows for fall/winter 2015 come to a close.  Many of eyewear's most popular looks are sticking around; expect round frames and metals to continue to trend into next season.  Here's a review of the runways top glasses trends for the coming season:

Architectural

Raf Simmons continues to explore architectural metal accents and mirrored lenses with his Fall/Winter collection for Dior.  Sure to be another huge hit.

via

via

via

Cat-Eye

More exaggerated cat-eyes are still coming from Fendi who has been pushing this silhouette forward for the past few seasons.  This season they lose the bedazzled accents and stick with matte plastics and well placed cut-outs that emphasize the cat-eye shape.

via

via

via

A personal fashion-week favorite were the watercolored pastel cat-eye frames from Max Mara.

via

via

Neutrals

The more subdued color palette in eyewear is again trending big this season compared to past years where loud and colorful glasses were the rage. Feminine ruffles at Rochas were paired with matte taupe and brown angular sunglasses to help create their statement hard/soft contrast.

via

And Philip Lim 3.0 used oversized lenses in minimalist neutral frames for an almost alien-esque take on sunwear.  

via

via

Have you ever wished you had your favorite pair of sunglasses in 2 colors?  Norwegian eyewear designer Kaibosh has teamed up with fashion label HAiK to solve that problem. Their innovative line of sunwear is reversible so that you have the option of two different looks in just one pair of sunglasses. How does it work? The temple hinge features a 180 degree rotation ability, allowing your to flip your sunglasses from one side to the other.

via

Simply called the Two-Way, these sunglasses feature color combos that range from bold to classic. Wear tortoise on one day, then flip your glasses around for an electric blue the next. The design is an engineer's dream - understatedly simple and insanely functional,  Be on the lookout for this creative design to take off and start making waves on this side of the Atlantic!

via

via

Pantone recently released the 2015 color of the year: Marsala, a deep red wine and burgundy-esque color.  While there are always mixed reviews when the color of the year is announced, eyewear has been embracing the dark burgundy trend on the runways all year for good reason.  Yesterday's candy colored plastics are quickly fading into memory in exchange for a darker and more sophisticated eyewear color palate.  Marsala keeps the trend of embracing color in play (I loathe a day where all glasses are black or brown or metal), but with a much more subdued effect than the bright neons we've been seeing in eyewear the past few years.  This color mixes perfectly with the metal accents and amber tinted lenses we've seen from many designers as the retro looks from the 70s have returned to fashion (round eyewear is everywhere!).

Pantone Color of the Year advertisement (featuring eyewear!) via

Looking to embrace the trend?  Go all out in deep red frames or you can even pair a metal or thin rimmed plastic frame with a burgundy hued tinted lens.  Here's a look at some of the best glasses options embracing the Marsala color trend for 2015:

Images will link to brand below with affiliate linking.