Gucci Eyewear: Horsebit, Bamboo and Double G Sunglasses

Gucci Eyewear: Horsebit, Bamboo and Double G Sunglasses

Gucci started as a leather goods shop in Florence in 1921, and its sunglasses still speak the language of that workshop: Horsebit hardware, bamboo and the interlocking G. Notes on the house behind the frames, and which pairs wear best every day.

Florence, On Your Face

Gucci's codes all come from somewhere specific, which is why I find them easier to wear than most logos. Guccio Gucci opened a small leather goods shop in Florence in 1921, and the house took much of its early inspiration from the equestrian world. The Horsebit, that double ring and bar, first showed up on a loafer in 1953. Bamboo came even earlier, shaped by Florentine artisans into the handle of the Bamboo 1947 bag.

 

The eyewear pulls those same codes into acetate and metal, so Gucci sunglasses are the easiest way into the house. The Horsebit-embellished round frame in recycled tortoiseshell acetate puts the hardware right at the temple. The Bamboo round-frame acetate pair is my pick for anyone who wants the history without a visible logo. Since 2016, Gucci's eyewear has been developed by Kering Eyewear, the group's own eyewear company, rather than an outside licensee, and the details show it.

Gucci sunglasses collage: Gucci, Gucci Eyewear

Let The History Do The Work

Gucci sunglasses are not built to blend in, and trying to make them anonymous misses the point. The house's codes are meant to be seen from across a room. Still, I would steer toward the frames where the history does the work, the Bamboo pieces, the Horsebit round frame, the tortoiseshell aviators, over the most heavily branded styles, which tend to feel of a moment. The Bamboo pieces are the Bamboo round frame, the Bamboo aviator and the Bamboo rectangular frame, and the tortoiseshell aviator is the one with the thin brown frame. Fit matters more than usual with frames this deliberate, because a pair that slides down your nose undoes everything. The right Gucci frame gives your face a stronger outline and has one detail you genuinely love, not five you tolerate.

 

If you want something quieter, the last grid has the least branded pairs, like the slim Havana oval and the plain black Minimal wayfarer, next to the louder Signoria shield and the green and red Web stripe. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Miu Miu Eyewear and Cartier Eyewear.