Luxe, French, and Perfectly Trendy: The New Designer Sunglasses I Refuse to Take Off

Designer sunglasses are, in my experience, always worth the investment. The small details add up in an outfit, so when you find a pair of sunglasses that complements your face shape and pairs well with the color palette and overall vibe of your look, you instantly appear more pulled together in a way that people won’t quite be able to put their finger on. It’s the ultimate subtle power move.

What’s more, designer sunglasses are the kind of wardrobe investment that feels relatively small compared to, say, a handbag purchase, yet they prove to have far greater cost-per-wear and even cost-per-lifetime since they can often be worn by all genders, across generations, and throughout every season. Speaking from experience, the first pair of designer sunglasses I ever acquired has become the only pair I reach for, despite having more than 10 pairs in my closet.

All that is to say that when designer sunglasses are good, they’re really good. Enter the new Moncler Lunettes frames I had the chance to try on this month. I wear-tested three styles from the Fall/Winter 2024 collection—the Claro Squared Sunglasses, Fhaite Pilot Sunglasses, and Snowseeker Sunglasses—while on a trip with the brand in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, a charming ski resort town in the heart of the French-speaking Swiss Alps. The trip brought together editors, buyers, and house friends to celebrate the launch of the new collection and preview the upcoming spring styles.

The collection merges the brand’s legacy in technical, high-performance design with an après ski-chicpoint of view. I put the shades to the test while snowshoeing on the mountain, dining alfresco at a traditional Swiss snow table, and partying at the chalet-turned-fine-dining outpost Chetzeron—and I landed on three sunglasses I’m now convinced I can’t live without.

From classic square frames to trend-forward pilot and sporty-maximalist wraparound shades, see my reviews of each pair and how I styled them in my alpine wardrobe.

Best Moncler Sunglasses

The Editor Favorite: Claro Squared Sunglasses

My review: I lost count of how many black sunglasses I’ve tried long ago by now, but of the dozens I still have in my closet, the Claro Squared Sunglasses immediately ranked at the top. Not only did I end up wearing these the most throughout the trip but have reached for them constantly in the days since, and I think that’s the true testament to their ultra-wearability. Whether I was trying to hide my jet lag-induced under-eye bags at the airport, style a decently cute gym outfit, or complete an elevated office look, there are no occasions I can think of where this classic shape wouldn't work.

Even the other editors—both women and men—on the trip also gravitated towards this pair which was another theme I noticed throughout the trip. All the Moncler styles seemed to dissolve traditional gender lines that other sunglasses brands tend to market towards, and instead, they simply looked good on everyone.

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The Sellout: Fhaite Pilot Sunglasses

My review: My editor senses were immediately tingling when I first laid eyes on this pair. Oversize sunglasses have been on the rise with more and more designers introducing forward-looking versions in their collections, so a pair of larger frames was already on my wish list to try out for spring, and lo and behold, this aviator-like style was everything I’d been looking for. As I’ve come to realize in my search for the perfect oversize pair, it’s tough to find frames that make a chic statement but don’t overwhelm your face or come off looking too costumey, but the Moncler Fhaite Pilot Sunglasses check both of those hard-to-find boxes. Their curved shape gives off a retro ’70s feel and the size felt perfectly wearable to me, which is honestly a feat considering I tend to shy away from most oversize frames.

As an official oversize sunglass convert, I'm already thinking about how to incorporate this pair into my outfits for NYFW and have been inspired by recent celebrity looks to pair them with other of-the-moment trends like scarf coats, faux-fur outerwear, and funnel-neck jackets. This Rosie Huntington-Whiteley moment is perennially on my mood board. With runway, celebrity, and editor backing, I’m already predicting this pair will sell out in record time (and not to brag, but my instincts are usually right).

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The Sporty Silhouette: Snowseeker Rectangular Sunglasses

My review: Chances are that, like me, you can’t open your phone anymore without seeing somebody on a ski trip. For the past month, my Instagram feed has been a parade of posts tagged in places like Aspen and St. Moritz, each one featuring more stylish and luxe skiing (and more often than not, après-skiing) outfits than the last. The one common thread is usually a pair of sporty sunglasses, and I just found the style that trumps them all.

Combining Moncler’s high-performance design with luxurious finishes like frosty, reflective lenses and boxy, curved body, the Snowseeker Sunglasses are nothing short of iconic, at least, that’s the sentiment that was echoed throughout my Instagram DMs when I posted a selfie in my pair. They may not be as wearable for every day as the first two pairs, but I truly don’t own anything like them and found them to be much more fun to style than I would have initially thought. I test-drove them while trekking through mountainous terrain on a two-hour snowshoeing adventure and am pleased to share that they hardly budged and, perhaps more importantly, dialed my ski outfit up approximately 10 notches.

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