The 18 best sunglasses of 2024: get prepped for some sunshine

Cutler & Gross

• Pros: Unique shape | 18K gold detailing | Sturdy hinges
• Cons: Not polarised

Inspired by sights in New York’s streets across the seventies and eighties, Cutler & Gross’ 1388 style is a real sight to behold. Featuring an 18K gold rivet on the temple as well as a gold groove wire core, the shades combine high quality with an appearance that’s bound to set you apart as you journey through your own locale.

• Pros: 100% UV protection | Retro-futuristic feel
• Cons: One size

Sunglasses are a great way of adding a bit of mystery to the top of your style game, and this is where Prada comes in. Famed for slick accessories which favour a stark black colour palette, the Italian's house's latest design promises a strong, retro-like appearance thanks to its rectangular-frame and abstract-shaped temples. Plaque embellished with the brand's logo either side, it's safe to say that these will help you soak up rays in style.

• Pros: Retro design | 100% UV Protection
• Cons: Not polarised

Without fail, all of Tom Ford's eyewear frames are imbued with an ultra-suave, luxe appeal. Case in point from his current collection? This ‘Dax’ design. Nodding to the silhouettes of past times through their tortoiseshell texture, they boast 100 per cent UV protection and are embedded with the designer's signature T-shape at the temples. Style them with your most elegant sartorial pieces for maximum effect.

• Pros: Top Gun-esque style | 100% UV protection | Flattering shape
• Cons: One size

A touch of Top Gun realness revived for the modern age – that's what these ‘Paul’ sunglasses from Curry & Paxton represent. With an emboldened, tortoiseshell frame and those signature, aviator-esque D-shape lenses, these shades are subtly oversized for an impactful yet flattering fit.

• Pros: Structural design | Luxurious
• Cons: Expensive price point

Taking its name from the Latin word for ‘priceless’, Akoni's sunglasses are a luxurious pick to add to your accessories collection. Inspired by the sculptural masterpieces of architect Jean Prouvé, these ‘Hera’ aviator sunnies are angular and sharp, centred with grey tinted lenses and promise 100 per cent UV protection. We suggest styling them with a sharp, slim-fitting suit to elevate their frame even further.

• Pros: Classic design | Affordable price
• Cons: One size

Affordable sunglasses informed by cultural icons? Sign us up. This comes courtesy of ‘Shady Spex’: the eyewear brand which serves ultra-stylish shades with quality and sustainability in mind. A special shoutout goes to the ‘New York Night Train’ design. Incorporating recycled materials in their sleek construction, they’re inspired by the likes of Buddy Hale and John Cale and offered in five stylish shade variations.

• Pros: Bold design | Adjustable nose pads
• Cons: Wide fit may not be for everyone

If you’re looking for a pair of sunglasses that really serve a statement, Rick Owens has got you covered. Specifically, with this shield style: crafted in Japan from stainless steel, shaped with a strikingly oversized silhouette and heavily exposed with a grey-tinted lens. In true manner of the designer, they’re unapologetically alternative in design, and will be most effective with head-to-toe black attire.

• Pros: Retro-futuristic feel | Advanced design technology
• Cons: One size

Straight off of Fendi's own Autumn/Winter 2023 runway and making their way into your sunglasses collection, these frames from Fendi Eyewear are the logomaniac pair that will bring some fashionable flair to your facial frame. Created using 3D printing technology to achieve the recurring FF canvas along the arms, they’re fitted with yellow-tinted acetate lenses and are slightly shadowed to bring a bit of insouciance upon wear. Big yes.

• Pros: Lightweight design | Multiple colour options | Excellent value
• Cons: Not polarised

Creating pieces with personality, CO Optical specialises in the contemporary, but isn't above looking to its archives for inspiration. Whilst the warm orange-toned browns are reminiscent of film negatives and the touch of tortoiseshell harks back to the '70s, the sharp circular lenses and fine adjoining frame says nothing but summer '24.

• Pros: Monogram lenses | Different sizes | Metal frame
• Cons: Not polarised

Logomania, executed with elegance. Defined by their gradient lenses and infamous monogram pattern, Louis Vuitton's Clockwise sunglasses elevate the aviator silhouette for a luxurious take on fashion's ongoing industrialist trend.

• Pros: Classic silhouette | Sleek shape | Polarised lenses
• Cons: One size

As the first brand to introduce the use of polarised lenses for sunglasses, Polaroid can always be relied upon for a quality pair of innovative shades. With a touch of Top Gun about them, this pair take on a classic Aviators shape, finished with gunmetal grey details.

• Pros: Retro design | Comes with a velvet case
• Cons: One size

What’s not to love about these rectangular-framed sunglasses by Gucci? A design that looks like it has been pulled straight out of the ‘70s archives, the frame is crafted from acetate and the temples are decorated with the Italian label’s House colours. As for the lenses themselves, they’re painted in a lush brown hue that gives us nothing but vintage vibes.

• Pros: Statement piece | Opulent design
• Cons: One size

Put simply, no one does maximalism like Versace. These Medusa Biggie sunglasses combine a jet black frame with metallic gold detailing and the iconic Medusa motif, paying homage to Donatella's headline-grabbing chain dress as designed by the late, great Gianni in 1993.

• Pros: Optional polarised coating | Multiple colour options
• Cons: Design may be too plain for some

Finlay & Co shot to attention when Meghan Markle wore a pair of the brand’s sunglasses at her debut appearance with Prince Harry. It also does stylish frames for men, as visitors to its newly opened store will attest. Located on London’s Broadwick Street, it offers eye tests using the latest optometric technologies and showcases its full range, from specs to shades, all handmade in Italy. Our pick of the frames? These Bowery beauties. Grab a pair and set yourself up for this winter and beyond.

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