Chromotherapy is the practice of wearing colored lenses to boost your mood.

We can’t deny that the way we see the world greatly affects our outlook and attitude. For this project, we set out to create eyewear that was classic, simple, and still fulfilled the utility both as sunglasses and for visual therapy.

To start, XLARGE chose one of AKILA’s most sought-after frames (the APOLLO) and added simple X-L branding to the right and left sides of the frame. The new colorways – black, alpine tortoise, and checkered acetate – reflect XLARGE’s mod influence and classic style.

AKILA's founder/creative director and XLARGE’s creative director are good friends, and both teams have mutual admiration for each other. AKILA is brand new while XLARGE is on the verge of celebrating 30 years in business, but both brands consider themselves to be purveyors of a classic aesthetic. Perhaps most importantly, both brands strive to bring exemplary product and design to market at a realistic price point.

AKILA sunglasses are handcrafted from plant-based acetate and stainless steel with Optical Class 1 nylon lenses. Every style goes through meticulous design, engineering, and production processes to ensure top-quality eyewear. Each pair of AKILA sunglasses takes more than 90 days to complete, and requires nearly 100 steps from start to finish.

All four AKILA × XLARGE frames were made in limited numbers to maintain the highest quality and craftsmanship. Once they’re gone, we won’t be releasing any more.