What India Wants? Shanu Nag’s Response

Shanu Nag’s of Astra seemed thrilled during Optic India 2020. Here’s what he thought were the best bets for the year ahead

Trends Of 2020

COLOURS

MATERIAL

SHAPES

Black and Brown, tinted translucent colours in burgundy, grey, rose, champagne, brown and tortoiseshell.

Minimalist thin metal frames alongside their thick acetate counterparts are here to stay.

Squares and hexagon are back in fashion. Subtle round-shaped aviator is also trending in the market.

“Shiny-rich black and brown remain the biggest draws – with gold trimmings and hues overriding current preferences. Translucent colour frames with graded lenses of champagne and burgundy are the choices.

There seems to be a return of tortoise shell frames, the younger women in particular are getting drawn to bold colors – including transparent off white, shocking pink and multi colours.

There has been no specific choice for materials but metals appears to be making inroads, more so when combined and trimmed with rich acetates.

Bold branding of desirable fashion insignias continues to dominate and beautifully executed subtle branding is still not the first choice.

Aviators remain hot favorite for Indian men and it is hastily creeping onto female faces. At Astra we believe that this will remain the bestselling shapes irrespective of price or brand positioning.

The square shapes made out of precious acetate in the luxury collection seems to be the new flavor – including by some women fashion aficionados.

Retro and cats eye are becoming more visible especially with global brands, but remain a small share of the total pie.

Ratio of women in the eyewear category is on the increase. At Astra have undertaken a dip stick research to study the extent of this reality and the price baskets where this phenomenon is dominant.

Tom Ford is a sensation and the fashion driver globally as also in India – across genders and categories. It was heartening to observe that global iconic brands like Celine, Fred and even the new entrant Victoria Secrets are being welcomed by the evolving Indian customers – much alike the rampantly expanding wrist watch business.

The future augers well for those who offer iconic shapes and designs with inspirations and compelling stories with a new breed of eyewear customers who are bold, audacious and brave and not shying away from trying anything new, fresh and novel”.