These formerly dorky accessories have transitioned into the coolest designer decorations.
Transition lenses have become some of the latest high-tech accessories on the market.
Photochromic lenses — also known as transition lenses, named after Transitions Optical, the company that launched the first plastic versions in 1991 — are transparent when indoors and darken when exposed to UV from the sun.
But the glasses, invented in the 1960s, typically had a slow and uneven transition from dark gray or brown to a translucent yellow-ish shade, making them more about function over fashion. (Sorry, dad.)
Now, new technology has given the glasses an upgrade — one likely much appreciated by half of the world’s population who are expected to need glasses by 2050, a recent study published in Opthalmology warned.
In March, Transitions Optical launched their Gen S lenses that change from clear to fully sun-protective in about 25 seconds and back to clear in less than two minutes, offering a 39% faster vision recovery from intense bright lights versus clear lenses, the company claims.
The quick change plus color options — including ruby, amethyst and gold — have turned the lenses from dorky to designer.
“I am 100% a reformed skeptic,” Simon Anderson, 54, a real estate broker in Brooklyn, told the Wall Street Journal of his Eyevan transition lenses. “I get compliments on them daily.”
His two-in-one glasses seamlessly fade from a beautiful blue to clear in seconds, adapting to light exposure to protect his eyes.
Even more high-tech, Meta and leading eyewear brand Ray-Ban partnered up to introduce the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses last year. The accessories feature quick transition lenses, along with AI technology to ask questions, capture photos, make calls, send messages, listen to music, livestream and more.
The brands are expected to announce their augmented-reality glasses this week.
“They are practical and they’re stylish,” said Michael Miraflor, chief brand officer at venture capital firm Hannah Grey VC, told Business of Fashion of his Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
Manhattan optician Anthony Aiden agreed, noting to the WSJ, that transitions have become “more of a fashion statement now” and “really piqued the interest of the younger generation.”
