Aleš Boem for Valérie Jurčíková

Product designer Aleš Boem (boem.co) developed two sunglass collections for the Czech fashion designer Valérie Jurčíková, shown across two consecutive editions of Mercedes-Benz Prague Fashion Week — Gravity is Optional in April 2026, presented with Harper’s Bazaar, and a second collection that closed the SS27 runway programme on 7th September 2026. Both designs were 3D printed and developed in parallel with the garments rather than sourced as styling. Files then go straight to print, with hand finishing and lens fitting done in-house. The reason for printing is speed to finished object. From first sketch to a complete, wearable collection it took three months with the first line, three weeks with the second. That timeline can be achieved only with local manufacturing, the product designer says.  

Jurčíkova’s April collection built on movement as a structural principle, referencing 90s aerobic culture and VHS home-workout tapes. Boem’s response was a sport cat-eye with an inverted profile — the volume of a 90s injection-moulded sports wrap, cut back and re-weighted so the visual centre of gravity sits low and forward. The split between the front and the temple is the functional detail: on the runway and off it, it catches hair falling forward. Lenses by Hoya; the commercial version runs Hoya Sensity photochromics, which clear indoors and darken outdoors. Image above: photography by Petr Sajgal  – the show by the designer Valérie Jurčíková at Mercedes-Benz Prague Fashion Week