It was throwing shade of a different sort on Tuesday night as Safilo, the Italian makers of some of the hottest designer eyewear, celebrated the arrival of Elie Saab sunglasses in the country.
The setting? A pretty and new find, the Rosa room overlooking the lawns of Montecasino's Palazzo hotel, with waiters proffering morsels head and shoulders above the usual event fare (Parma ham cups with asparagus, lobster bisque with sour-cream foam, mini Yorkshire puds and melt-in-your mouth pork belly croquettes) as we eyed the glam goggles displayed inside glass domes atop pretty pink rosebud flower arrangements.
Fashionistas will tell you that Elie Saab showcases the most lavish couture in Paris and, fittingly, the Lebanese designer's spring-summer range of glasses are blinged up in gold or Swarovski.
Eyeing a pair of blue frames is songstress Lira, wearing a black jumpsuit with lace trim that showed off her ample bosom. "I'm usually more a fan of Miu Miu," admits the new Elie convert...