Most sunglasses brands chase either heritage or hype. Vaanyard has built its following on neither — the Sydney-designed eyewear label has spent a handful of years quietly becoming one of Australia’s most sought-after “cult-like” brands, and the Gravity is one of the frames doing the heavy lifting, built around an oversized face shape that borrows its confidence from 1970s disco culture.
Who is Vaanyard?
Vaanyard is designed and based in Sydney, established in 2019 under the tagline “Applied Vision.” The brand builds its frames around what it calls “refined geometry and considered materials,” drawing on contemporary inner-city design sub-cultures and structural references from the built environment rather than the usual mood-board of surf or luxury cliches that dominate Australian eyewear. Every style is produced in limited quantities, which is a large part of why the brand has developed the kind of following optometrists describe as cult-like rather than mainstream.
A Frame Built on Disco-Era Confidence
Vaanyard describes the Gravity as drawing on “the energetic and lively disco scene of the 1970s,” blending that era’s boldness with a large, statement-making face shape. It’s a deliberately confident frame — wide enough to make an impact rather than disappear into the background — but the brand tempers that with a minimal, sleek temple design that keeps the overall look closer to contemporary than costume. It’s the same tension Vaanyard applies across its range: strong, sculptural fronts balanced against restrained, unfussy arms.
Three Ways to Wear It
The Gravity is offered across several colourways, including an Earl Gloss front with G15 green lenses, a Newtown Tort Gloss front with grey lenses, and a Black Gloss front with a grey gradient. Rather than treating colour as an afterthought, each version changes the frame’s personality — the tortoiseshell leans classic, the black gloss leans formal, and the earl-toned green lens gives the whole frame a warmer, more retro cast that leans furthest into the disco reference point. All three sit in the brand’s sunglasses line alongside its separate optical frame range, which shares the same silhouettes for prescription wearers.
Who the Gravity Is Best For
- Anyone who wants a genuinely local, limited-run design rather than a mass-produced import
- People who suit an oversized frame and want one with a design story behind the shape, not just size for size’s sake
- Buyers who want a frame that photographs distinctly rather than blending into every other pair of black sunglasses
- Anyone drawn to Vaanyard’s broader design language who wants to start with one of its more expressive, statement styles
Where to Buy
The Vaanyard Gravity is available in Australia through BEON, alongside the rest of Vaanyard’s limited-run sunglasses and optical range.
