Built in collaboration with VSP Global, a group of glasses designers, and Zeiss, an optics design team, the Nike Wing is the sports apparel company's most advanced athletic sunglasses. In the name of speed, the Nike Wing is less a pair of sunglasses and more "a single-body curved sun shield," according to Nike's press release.
Indeed, the Wing looks like a pair of sunglasses in only the broadest Platonic sense. The glasses wrap around a wearer's head entirely, rather than resting on their ears, and the glass of the lens is held in place with a completely new material to accommodate the single body glass. The result is a piece of eyewear that weighs in at 26 grams and makes as little contact with the head as possible.
This high-perfomance eyewear, which will be in use at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, shows the lengths that athletes will go to to maximize their output.
Aerodynamic Olympic Sunglasses
Nike's 'Wing' Sunglasses are for High-Performing Athletes
Trend Themes
1. Advanced Athletic Sunglasses - There is an opportunity for companies to collaborate with optics designers to create even more advanced athletic sunglasses that weigh less and have even less contact with the head than the Nike Wing.
2. Single-body Curved Sun Shields - Eyewear companies can explore the idea of creating single-body curved sun shields for everyday wear, providing an alternative to traditional sunglasses.
3. Collaboration in Eyewear Design - There is room for further collaboration between sports apparel companies, glasses designers, and optics design teams to create high-performance eyewear for various sports and activities.
Industry Implications
1. Sports Apparel - Sports apparel companies can innovate by working with glasses designers and optics design teams to create advanced athletic sunglasses for a variety of sports.
2. Eyewear Design - Eyewear designers can explore the possibility of creating single-body curved sun shields that weigh less and have less contact with the head than traditional sunglasses.
3. Sports Optics - The field of sports optics can expand by collaborating with sports apparel companies and glasses designers to create high-performance eyewear for athletes and people who enjoy outdoor sports and activities.