Costa, also known as Costa Del Mar, is an American eyewear brand based in Florida that was founded in 1983 and is owned by the French company Essilor, who is a world leader in producing eyewear lenses. Their polarized sunglasses are made in the United States. The frames are targeted at the sports market, particularly within the boating and fishing niche. Costa is popular amongst surfers and fishermen due to its anti-glare technology. Costa first developed a following after it became the official eyewear of an America’s Cup yacht racing team. Building on its sporting niche, the brand partnered with Austin Dillon, a NASCAR driver in 2017. That partnership led to the creation of a special edition sunglasses line.

Costa Research

Inspired by their water sports niche, Costa has several charity initiatives around ocean protection, in particular safeguarding the shark population. The brand has a charity called #OneCoast, which raises funds for the Red Cross hurricane relief program to help survivors of natural disasters in America. Their Costa+OCEARCH partnership raises funds for NGOs that are dedicated to protecting ocean wildlife. Each purchase from the COSTA+OCEARCH Collection helps fund shark research expeditions that generate critical data. Their environmental measures inspired their Untangled Collection in 2018. This is done in partnership with Bureo, who collect fishing nets and repurpose them into plastic. Then, Costa uses the plastic to manufacture their frames. The brand also sells a collection of shark inspired shirts and hats, along with eyewear. This is done to raise funds for their conservation work. 

Costa Sunglasses Take Best of Show in 2018

Their ‘Baffin’ sunglasses won the ‘Best of Show: Eyewear’ award at ICAST 2018. Costa sunglasses are now manufactured by Luxottica, who produce some of the most recognisable eyewear ranges in the industry. The lenses developed by Costa each come with performance technology, and the seven lens colours are designed for specific activities. The blue mirrored lenses are intended to be worn on open, reflective water, whereas the copper lenses work best for variable lighting situations or driving. Each eyewear option comes with a choice of lenses, allowing you to customise your Costa sunglasses to meet your lifestyle or sporting needs. The lenses come in a further two options, lightwave glass that offers superior clarity and is scratch-resistant while being 20% thinner than the average polarized lens. The plastic lens option is a patented design made of polycarbonate, that is both lightweight and impact-resistant. 

Within their men’s sunglasses range, Costa eyewear is divided up into ‘beach lifestyle sunglasses’ and ‘sport performance sunglasses’. 

Costa Beach Life Sunglasses

Costa’s ‘beach lifestyle sunglasses’ are intended for daily wear and outdoor activities such as fishing and boating. The eyewear in this range features polarized lenses. These lenses offer 100% UV protection and are anti-glare in even the sunniest climates. Their best-selling style in this collection is the ‘Rinconcito’ model, of which the lenses are made of polarised plastic and feature Costa’s patented Hydrolite nose and temple pads. The ‘Rinconcito’ frames are a medium size with a regular fit. This means that they fit the majority of face shapes, and is available in four frame colours. These colors can come with either plastic or glass polarized lenses. 

The uni-sex ‘Loreto’ style is another best-selling model for Costa. This model has a modern twist on the classic round aviator-style frames. The name is inspired by a small town in the Sea of Cortez, and the versatile style is intended for everyday wear. The frames come in gunmetal, rose gold and palladium metals, with the brand’s minimalistic wave logo featuring on the side. Each frame colour option comes with several different polarised glass and plastic lenses to chose from. 

Costa Sports Performance Sunglasses

In the Costa men’s ‘sports performance’ range of sunglasses, their best selling model is the ‘Fantail’ design. These performance sunglasses are smaller than most rectangular frames and are designed to be worn when fishing, as the lenses, include mirrored options and are considered to be the best-polarised sunglasses to wear on the water. This style has a regular frame fit, making it suitable for any face shape. Another best-selling style in the range is the ‘Diego’ model. This model is a wide frame style that Costa markets as their most advanced sport performance sunglasses ever. They’re designed for ultimate versatility and intended to be worn for long periods.

The ‘Diego’ sunglasses feature innovative vented spring hinge systems to maximise airflow and enhance the fit of the glasses on your face for extra comfort, as well as being designed with sweat management channels to keep you cool throughout the day. One of the unique features of the ‘Diego’ design is its top and side shielding. This is designed to prevent light leakage and allow you to focus on your sports. 

Don’t Forget the Ladies

Similarly, the women’s eyewear collection is divided into ‘beach lifestyle sunglasses’ and ‘sport performance sunglasses’. Their ‘beach lifestyle’ sunglasses are intended to be worn during daily activities, and the polarised lenses make them suitable to wear all year round. Costa’s best-selling women’s beach lifestyle sunglasses are the ‘Panga’ style of wide rectangular frames, designed with deep curves inspired by the boats in Central America, the model is a ‘West Coast’ beach-inspired take on the classic sunglasses style. Costa’s best-selling women’s ‘sport performance sunglasses’ are the narrow-fitting ‘Waterwoman’ polarised model, designed with the needs of an active woman in mind. These sunglasses are both elegant and functional, featuring Costa’s hydrolite rubber that guarantees comfort for all-day wear.

Costa Sunglass Accessories

With functionality in mind, Costa sells several eyewear accessories to help protect your new glasses. Their ‘recycled microfibre pouch’ is ideal for making your glasses travel friendly, and their retainers are designed to keep your sunglasses within close reach so you won’t lose them on your next adventure. All Costa sunglasses come with the signature black and blue logo Costa case. Along with a microfibre cleaning cloth to help you maintain the quality of your lenses. Costa is the ideal brand for anyone who spends time on the water, either on a boat or through taking part in water sports, or has an active outdoors lifestyle. The option of choosing the best lenses that work for your lifestyle and daily needs makes Costa sunglasses some of the most customisable on the market, and a great investment piece.

Will Costa some day overtake Maui Jim in the sunglass world? Will they overtake Ray Ban? Time will tell, but they are marketing aggressively.