The '90s-Style Sunglasses Everyone's Wearing Again

The hippest women, men—and, for all we know, even a set of seriously fashion-savvy children—are currently all wearing Saint Laurent's New Wave 98 California Sunglasses (£215).

Round frames and reflective finishes may be well-loved by the sleek A-list crowds across the globe, but the coolest corners of planet fashion have their eyes firmly set on this particular eyewear prize. Why? Well, it could be that they appear to reference one of the most iconic sunglasses collections of all time: Kurt Cobain's.

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(Image credit: Terry McGinnis/Getty Images)

Kurt Cobain with Courtney Love in 1993.

Saint Laurent's New Wave 98 sunglasses first hit the runway for the brand's S/S 16 menswear show— a collection which was inspired by Californian surf music culture—but Cobain, alongside his signature plaid shirts and mussed-up bleach-blonde hair, made these kind of oval-shaped frames an integral part of his enduring '90s look, owning them in an array of colours and going through a phase where he was very rarely photographed without them.

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Our new style crush, Anteros lead singer Laura Hayden, has them in white. So does Parisian fashion insider Letitia Paul. Harry Styles is also part of the crew, and we've spotted countless male fashion editors following his lead. 

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No great surprise, then, that these sunnies are all but sold-out across the board. We've noticed you can hop on a waiting list for Saint Laurent's New Wave 98 California Sunglasses in Checkerboard (£209) and White (£209) at Stylebop—in case they can do a re-order. But for now, scroll down to shop similar styles to get the look…

Hannah Almassi
Editor in Chief

Hannah Almassi is the editor in chief of Who What Wear UK. Hannah has been part of the the Who What Wear brand since 2015, when she was headhunted to launch the UK sister site and social channels, implement a localised content strategy and build out the editorial team. She joined following a seven-year tenure at Grazia magazine, where she led front-of-book news, fashion features and shopping specials as fashion news and features editor. With experience in both print and digital across fashion and beauty, Hannah has over 16 years in the field as a journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant. Hannah has interviewed industry heavyweights such as designers including Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Anderson through to arbiters of taste including Katie Grand and Anna Dello Russo. A skilled moderator and lecturer specialising in the shift to digital media and e-commerce, Hannah’s opinion and work has been sought by the likes of CNBC, BBC, The Sunday Times Style, The Times, The Telegraph and MatchesFashion.com, among many others. Hannah is often called upon for her take on trends, becoming known as a person with their finger of the pulse of what’s happening in the fashion space for stylish Brits.

Hannah currently resides in Eastbourne with her photographer husband, incredibly busy son and highly Instagrammable cat.