The summer sun might not have yet hit with full force, but it has already sent the smart young workforce of the city scurrying to start stocking up on their eyewear collection. Understanding the needs of the city, most opticians and shopping malls around the city are wisely updating their collections to ensure that the customer is spoilt for choices.

Tapash De, of GKB Opticians, Camp, says, "As far as sunglasses are concerned, the trend still by and large remains similar to last year with most of the people going in for the aviator look and the Ray-Ban Aviators still remaining a top favourite amongst people. However, this year has also seen a marked shift with a select few opting to go in for a sleek sporty look rather than the aviator look."

Some of the new entrants this year include brands like Mont Blanc, Swarovski, Polo Sport Roberto Cavalli, Yves St Laurent, Prada, Bvlgari, Versace, Dior, D&G, Tag Heuer, Valentino and Porsche Design. The prices for these brands start from Rs 20000 and go well into six-digit figures. Speaking more about these high-end brands, De says, "The number of people who can afford to buy these sunglasses are slowly on the rise. Moreover, the fashionable crowd loves to sport these high-end designer sunglasses. Most of them come with customised gold frames, embedded crystals, and sapphire cut lenses. Others offer ultra light titanium frames or graphite frames which are in huge demand.”

For the college going crowd one of the biggest hits in the market is the Titan Fastrack collection. Nitin Ransing of Titan Eye Store, says, "The Fastrack range starts from Rs 595 and goes right uptil 2700. It consists of the Aviator models, which give the biker look, or the sleek sporty models, which have an uber-cool appeal amongst the youngsters. Even the new range that is, the Army Collection has been well received by the people."

Jigar Gandhi of Shoppers Stop says, "We are officially not allowed to give much information about the brands but all I can say is we stalk some of the best brands in the business and as far as shopping for eyewear is concerned recession or no recession they are selling like hot cakes. The high-end models like Gucci and Armani are also selling off pretty well."

The slump in the global markets might have turned economies right on their head, however with the mercury rising in the city, recession or no recession the youth are definitely looking at some stylish options to comfort their weary eyes.