Banbe Sunglasses: How to Choose the Right Pair

I did not expect to have opinions about sunglasses founders, but Susannah Khouzame won me over. She was studying accounting and law, not eyewear, when she decided to build a fashion business. She came to Banbé from her work at Billini, where trend-aware footwear and accessories were the whole point, and she carried that instinct into frames. The label began in 2021, and Banbé’s own story puts its roots in Australia, with a style somewhere between familiar shapes and current color. I went deeper on a related idea in Chimi Sunglasses: The Best Frames Right Now. I went deeper on a related idea in How to Choose the Right Necklace Length: Collar to Pendant.

Its first big collaboration brought ten Australian tastemakers into the design process, each shaping frames around a personal style, and the result revisited cat-eye, aviator and Y2K ideas. I picture Khouzame's customer moving between those silhouettes, then choosing the finish that feels like her: gold metal, warm tortoise or a darker acetate. The label works out of Marrickville in Sydney, which somehow makes the whole thing feel more real to me.

Banbé moves between moods rather than insisting on one silhouette. The Amelia Sunglasses have an aviator-inspired shape with a dark Havana tortoise and yellow lenses, a warm anchor for a plain tee, an open collar or a crisp blazer. The Evangelista Sunglasses pick up gold and green with a vintage lean, and the Caroline Sunglasses in black are sharper, better with a white shirt or a dark jacket.

The Cassel Sunglasses in caramel and the Lydia Sunglasses in Havana tortoise stay in the brand's earthy palette. The Yasmin Blue Light Glasses are for a different kind of day, when the screen is the main event, and the Robinson, Sampaio, Del Ray, Sophia, Iris and Winnie round out the shapes. In my daydream, the last thing she adds before lunch is the pair already hanging by the door. My tip: choose the silhouette first, then decide between metal and acetate. What I would skip: using blue-light glasses outdoors in place of real sunglasses.

Banbé's best idea is that eyewear does not need to shout to be noticed. Familiar shapes get a distinct color, finish or scale, and that leaves room for a personal choice. I like the frames most when they feel like the last note of an outfit, not its whole subject. In my fashion dreams, she takes one tortoise pair from the apartment and a lighter gold pair for the weekend bag. I would start with the shape I will wear every week, and let the color be the fun part. Although I may buy the second pair first.