MELLER Lab PROJECT 02 Reframes Experimental Eyewear
The first thing I noticed about MELLER Lab PROJECT 02 wasn’t the shape, or even the colour, it was how considered the whole thing felt. There’s a tendency with experimental eyewear for the concept to outweigh the actual wearability, but this sits somewhere more balanced. It’s clearly trying to say something, but it doesn’t forget that, ultimately, it’s a pair of sunglasses you’re supposed to live in.
I’ve spent enough time around eyewear trends to recognise when something is leaning too heavily on nostalgia, and PROJECT 02 doesn’t fall into that trap. Yes, the ‘90s sport influence is there, you can see it in the wraparound silhouette and the way the lens curves slightly to suggest movement, but it’s been stripped back. What you’re left with feels closer to Japanese minimalism than retro revival. It’s controlled, deliberate, and, importantly, not trying too hard to be futuristic. It just is.
The campaign itself-an anime-inspired narrative where a liquid metal entity merges with a pair of sunglasses-sounds abstract on paper, but it actually reflects what the product is doing quite well. It’s less about spectacle and more about completion. The idea that two separate elements come together to form something more resolved is exactly how the frame behaves in practice.
I think what I appreciate most about PROJECT 02 is that it doesn’t over-explain itself. There’s a clear concept behind it, but you’re not forced to engage with it if you don’t want to. You can just wear them, and they work. That’s something a lot of “experimental” design forgets-function still matters, and here it’s not sacrificed.
At £69, PROJECT 02 sits in an interesting place. It’s accessible, but it doesn’t feel entry-level. The design language, the construction, even the way it’s presented- it all leans more premium than the price might suggest. That’s probably where MELLER has found its footing: delivering something that feels considered without pushing into a category that becomes inaccessible.
Coming away from it, I wouldn’t say PROJECT 02 is trying to reinvent sunglasses entirely. What it does do is refine where things are heading-towards cleaner silhouettes, smarter material integration, and a more thoughtful approach to how design and storytelling intersect. It feels current, but not fleeting. And more importantly, it feels wearable in a way that makes you want to keep reaching for it, rather than just appreciating it from a distance.