According to Euromonitor international data, the global eyewear market will reach $167 billion in 2023, with sales of oversized glasses growing by 15% year-on-year and accounting for 32% of the fashion eyewear category. According to consumer research firm Statista, 70% of respondents believe that wearing large-frame glasses can improve the “visual impact”, the lens area is usually more than 50 square centimeters (normal glasses about 30 square centimeters), by expanding the facial coverage ratio (an average increase of 40%) to enhance the sense of contour. For example, South Korean brand Gentle Monster launched the “Tilda” series with a width of 16.5 centimeters, the mirror leg is made of titanium alloy, the cost is 20% more than the regular model, but because of its social media exposure of more than 1.2 million times, the first month sales exceeded $8 million.
oversized glasses also feature oversized glasses, extending from 55 mm in 2018 to 65 mm in 2023, and extending the distance between the oversized glasses by 3 mm to accommodate different face shapes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) research shows that the light transmission rate of large-frame lenses needs to be controlled at more than 85%, avoiding edge distortion rate of more than 5%, and the Japanese manufacturer Hoya reduces the thickness of the lens by 30% through aspheric technology, and the weight is reduced to less than 25 grams. The “GG0397SK” model developed by luxury brands such as Gucci and Luxottica, an optical technology company, adopts the polarization film layer superposition process, which increases the UV barrier rate to 99.9%, and the mirror leg hinge bearing test reaches 100,000 times of opening and closing, extending the service life by 3 times. The terminal retail price of $450 still attracts 18-35 year olds to contribute **67%** of purchases.
Market trends show that the popularity of oversized glasses is highly correlated with celebrity effects. In 2022, the “Blondie” style worn by Lady Gaga in the publicity period of “House of Gucci” caused the search volume to jump 320% in a single day, and the e-commerce platform eBay sold out of similar products within 48 hours as high as 89%. According to data analytics firm Launchmetrics, every $1 a brand spends on a KOL partnership generates $4.70 in media impact value. In addition, Chinese social media platform XiaoHongshu, and **#oversizedglasses related content interaction more than 5.2 million times **, user-generated content (UGC) 43% mentioned the “face small”, “retro modern” and other keywords, The unit price of this category of Taobao customers increased from 150 yuan to 280 yuan, and the re-purchase rate increased by 18%.
Technological innovations at the production end further reduce costs. According to the Shenzhen supply chain company, the use of numerical control machine tools (CNC) to process oversized glasses metal frames has increased the yield from 75% to 92%, reduced the cost of single pair production by 12%, and shortened the delivery cycle to 14 days. The use of environmentally friendly materials has also become a selling point – British brand Tom Davies launched bio-based acetate frames, reducing the carbon footprint by 15%, despite an 8% increase in raw material costs, but the premium space is 35%, and the European market share will increase by 9% in 2023. It is worth noting that smart glasses manufacturers such as Meta and Ray-Ban’s “Stories” series, which integrates 5MP cameras and 48-hour battery life modules in oversized glasses, have shipped more than 500,000 pairs in the first quarter of 2024. Users use 1.2 hours per day, opening up a new track of “technology fashion”.
From a consumer psychology perspective, Nielsen reports that wearing oversized glasses can boost a person’s “confidence” rating by 22 percent and their success in negotiating in a business setting by 13 percent. According to New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024 show data, 78% of models with large-frame glasses, the color saturation (average ΔE<2) and the Pantone color of the clothing matching accuracy requirements, the error rate needs to be less than 5%. This “strong visual statement” strategy has been proven to boost brand memory — consumers who viewed oversized glasses ads had a 41% Day 2 Recall rate, 19 percentage points higher than regular glasses ads, confirming their central role in creating a bold image.