MANILA, Philippines?Those sunglasses with illusion Louis Vuitton logo all over the lenses made popular by hip-hop superstar Kanye West can now be had by Filipino fans of the brand as Louis Vuitton makes its eyewear collection available in the Philippines for the first time.

The Marc Jacobs-designed handcrafted eyewear has LV-philes drooling as it employs distinct design elements used in its iconic trunks and leathergoods?the S-lock, Monogram Flower and Coin de Malle hinges, for instance. The popular Monogram and Damier patterns are also used in its acetate frames.

Retailing from P25,000 to P33,000, a customer is assured of getting all those Gs? worth as the lenses are given the stamp of approval by Carl Zeiss, the German optical lens specialist whose name is more popularly associated with camera lenses.

LV?s patented Landscape Vision guarantees 100-percent protection from UV rays. All lenses go through the so-called polarization treatment that improves visual comfort: the sun glare from wet and flat surfaces is reduced and color contrast is increased.

The Spring-Summer 2008 collection has 39 styles for men and women, including the Illusion and Conspiration Pilote range that employ the Monogram logos on the lenses. To the curious, no, the logos don?t block your vision when you wear the eyeglasses.

This new addition to the LV merchandise for the local market is testament to the French luxury malletier?s confidence in the Philippines that, according to brand director Rhea de Vera-Aguirre, they?re in a constant search for a new store location in the northern part of the metropolis.

At the recent launch, they also introduced the brand?s 2008 City Guide, which now includes five new European cities: Bilbao, Luxembourg, Nicosia, Reykjavik and Turin.