Kiko Kostadinov Made Oakley Sunglasses Look Like They Belong In A Forest

Oakley sunglasses usually make me think of cycling, skiing, aliens, or someone about to explain an extremely complicated protein powder routine.

Kiko Kostadinov has other ideas.

For their latest collaboration, the designer duo Laura and Deanna Fanning have taken Oakley's Ellipse and covered it in feather and wood-grain patterns inspired by birdwatching, nature and their Fall/Winter 2026 collection.

Somehow, the result looks both extremely futuristic and like something you could find abandoned in a forest.

Oakley Went Birdwatching

The collaboration started with Kiko Kostadinov Women's AW26 collection, which was heavily influenced by the outdoors and birdwatching.

The Fanning twins looked to the textures of feathers and wood, then worked directly with Oakley to translate those patterns onto the Ellipse frame.

Instead of simply changing the color, they made the surface of the sunglasses part of the visual story.

One version has an Amherst Fade finish, while the other goes full woodgrain.

And yes, woodgrain sunglasses sound like they should be terrible.

They are not.

images via kikokostadinov.com

There's a Cindy Sherman Reference in Here Somewhere

The collection's nature obsession also connects back to Cindy Sherman's 1992 Fitcher's Bird photographic essay, which helped inspire the Fanning twins' approach to feathers and natural textures.

That gives the sunglasses a slightly stranger context than your standard “outdoor-inspired” accessory.

It's not just hiking. It's fashion looking at the way nature gets photographed, exaggerated and turned into something almost surreal.

Which is much more Kiko Kostadinov than simply putting leaves on a pair of sunglasses.

The Ellipse Was Already Doing the Most

Oakley's Ellipse is not exactly a shy frame.

The silhouette takes its name from Oakley's iconic ellipse logo, with a rounded shape and curved details that pull from the brand's '90s design language.

Then the Kiko Kostadinov team layered those feather and wood treatments over the top.

The result is this weird collision between Oakley's futuristic sportswear DNA and something much more organic.

It looks like a pair of sunglasses from a sci-fi film where everyone lives in a tree.

But They're Still Very Oakley

Underneath all the weirdness, these are proper performance-minded sunglasses.

The frames use Oakley's lightweight O Matter material, with Unobtainium earsocks and nosepads designed to keep them securely in place.

Both versions also use Prizm Bronze lenses, which are designed to enhance color and contrast and provide greater visual detail in bright conditions.

So you can appreciate the birdwatching references while still having Oakley's optical technology doing its thing.

Nature Got a Very Technical Makeover

This is the part I like most about the collaboration.

Kostadinov's work has always had a knack for making technical things feel slightly alien. Oakley already has that language built into its DNA. Put the two together and suddenly organic references like feathers and wood don't make the glasses softer.

They make them stranger.

The woodgrain version looks almost like camouflage for someone who wants to disappear into a very expensive architectural forest. The Amherst Fade version feels more polished, but still carries that same natural texture.

Neither one looks like a conventional fashion sunglass.

Thank God.

Shop them here for $356

These Came Straight Off the Runway

The Ellipse collaboration first appeared during Kiko Kostadinov Women's Fall/Winter 2026 runway show in Paris before getting its own limited release.

Both versions launched globally on October 1 through Kiko Kostadinov, Oakley and selected retailers and partners. Oakley lists the sunglasses at $356 in the U.S.

And honestly, I like that these don't feel like sunglasses someone designed after the collection was finished.

They look like they actually belong to the world the clothes came from.

Which means the next time someone tells me Oakleys are just for people who own six different kinds of technical jackets, I have evidence to the contrary.