The organizers of Eyewear Artwalk have announced the 2024 tour including dates & locations in the US. Beginning in April in Los Angeles and culminating in December in Miami, Eyewear Artwalk will be the first ever B2B event of its kind; a 360° commerce experience with education, fashion, entertainment, eyewear, music, and direct connections with avid consumers to discover art-centric eyewear brands.  

Alongside presentations featuring independent eyewear collections, brands will introduce innovative new technologies, telemedicine platforms, and lens products & services. Plus, optical professionals and consumers alike will be able to engage with the Optical Metaverse and the Optical Near Me consumer portal focused on the distribution of independent brands and eye care products.

“Like a rock band and its entourage that tours from city to city, Eyewear Artwalk will be the place to be, complete with immersive digital content, entertainment, and a focus on the ultimate consumer. There will be opportunities for meet and greets with the creators, influencers, and tastemakers of art-centric eyewear”, stated Stephen Fournier, eyewear designer and rock musician.

“We came together during the pandemic at a time when the world was shuttered with some of the most important independent & legacy eyewear brands in the world. Our team of rebellious innovators stood together and engaged with curators at the retail optical shops in a year where there was no other option. Following that collaborative experience, Eyewear ArtWalk continues to raise the bar and set the pace to supply the most unique optical retailers with capsule collection eyewear, services that support ultimate luxury consumers, and technology to empower eyecare B2B businesses and consumers the opportunity to connect and experience new products & services together.”

About Eyewear Artwalk 2024:

An eyewear experience curated to cater to both optical professionals and discerning eyewear consumers, Eyewear Artwalk is the ultimate fusion of creativity, innovation, and style. 

This groundbreaking experience is designed to provide attendees with a fresh perspective on discovering new eyewear brands, exploring styles that resonate with their unique tastes, and indulging in the magic of artistry.

This three-day experience promises to be a pop-up immersive masterpiece, educating eye care professionals with innovative sessions while connecting directly with consumers, unlike any other event in the industry.  

Eyewear Artwalk will house a three-day experience in seven cities across the US: Los Angeles, Nashville, Denver, New York, Chicago, Austin, and Miami.

What to Expect:

Eyewear professionals can interact during insightful keynote sessions and hands-on workshops that delve into the fascinating intersection of consumerism and art. 

The star-studded team of presenters has a successful history of innovation from the four-year My Vision Show and Optical Metaverse platforms. Plus, education partner IOT will be on-site providing continuing education (CE) credits for all eye care professionals. 

From groundbreaking design techniques to the latest trends that are shaping the eyewear landscape, attendees will gain invaluable knowledge and inspiration to elevate their practice and delight their clients.

Inspired by the artists, frame designers from around the world will curate unique eyewear collections that attendees can buy directly. This proves to optical professionals which collections attendees are engaging with, verifying data before acting on it.

Why Eyewear Artwalk 2024 Matters:

In a world where the eyewear industry is constantly evolving, Eyewear Artwalk brings a fresh perspective that goes beyond the same traditional conferences. 

This event isn’t just about lectures and networking – it’s a dynamic exploration of how eyewear and art intertwine, shaping the way we see the world, literally and figuratively. 

By uniting the best of both worlds, Eyewear Artwalk provides an unparalleled platform for professionals and enthusiasts to connect, learn, and be inspired.

Save the Date:

Unlock a new world of inspiration and aesthetic exploration as Eyewear Artwalk 2024 unfolds. Grab your tickets for the dates below at EyewearArtwalk.com. 

Los Angeles   April 18-20, 2024	Nashville   May 16-18, 2024	Denver   June 13-15, 2024	New York   July 18-20, 2024
Chicago   August 15-17, 2024	Austin   October 24-26, 2024	Miami   December 5-7, 2024

Tickets and sponsorships are on sale now. For more information, please visit www.EyewearArtwalk.com and follow us on social media @EyewearArtwalk.

Click HERE for the full press release.

SILMO Istanbul looks forward to welcoming industry professionals from Turkey and around the world for the tenth time. This year, in addition to celebrating its 10^th anniversary, the optics show is inaugurating a new 25,000 m2 configuration in halls 5-6-7 of the Istanbul exhibition center.

With almost 200 exhibitors and over 900 local and international brands, SILMO Istanbul responds to the expectations of professionals, and continues to offer them an ideal stage for business and meetings.

During this edition, visitors will have the opportunity to take part in SILMO Academy conferences. Through this scientific symposium, SILMO Istanbul continues to support the development of the industry with training programs on the latest and trendiest topics.

And to highlight its 10^th anniversary, SILMO Istanbul will be launching the SILMO Istanbul Awards, which will recognize the brands and products of exhibiting companies.

SILMO Istanbul Optical Fair will take place from November 23 to 26, 2023.

Click HERE for the full press release.

For more related content on Optik NOW, click HERE.

The SILMO Generation was there in force. The four days of SILMO Paris in numbers: 31,337 visitor-buyers (+16.5% vs. 2022) attended, including 15,902 from abroad (+18.3% vs. 2022) and 15,535 from France (+14.7% vs. 2022). They were able to meet 929 companies, representing a total of 9,400 stand visitors – not counted with visitors – spread over the 75,000m2 of halls 6 and 7 at Paris-Nord Villepinte.

This year’s SILMO Paris definitively confirmed that the Paris event is now the place to be for the launch of new collections and brands, as well as innovative concepts, on an international scale! Its  strength  also  comes  from  the  formidable  array  of  events  within  the  event,  promoting innovation,  creation  and  knowledge,  and  putting  into  perspective  the  companies  that  are inventing the optics of today and tomorrow.

The 30^th SILMO d’OR awards, presented in the surprising setting of the Folies Gruss, remain the central pillar of this valorization. The members of the Jury, whose integrity and professionalism the organizers warmly thank, meticulously studied all the applications and impartially selected the creations and innovations that caught their attention. They were supported in their mission by a Jury Chairman from outside the optical sector, who brought a different and challenging perspective to the table. This year, Nicolas Fafiotte, a self-described “couturier of exceptional moments”, accepted the challenge.

The winners of the 2023 edition can be found HERE.

The SILMO d’OR 2023 ceremony was also an opportunity to award two other prizes, including one for the first time.

With corporate social and environmental responsibility at the heart of today’s societal challenges, SILMO organizers decided to create an RESPONSIBLE COMPANY AWARD. Open to all exhibitors, the aim of the prize is to distinguish a company in the optical sector for its contribution to reducing its environmental impact and optimizing its social impact. An independent jury, made up of optics professionals and CSR experts, evaluated the applications and chose the winner of this first edition: MYKITA, a Berlin-based company founded in 2003, which has committed itself to a strategy of responsibility incorporating environmental and social aspects, in order to reduce the footprint of its products and its overall activities.

The  INTERNATIONAL  OPTICIAN  OF  THE  YEAR  AWARD,  awarded  by  the  IOA  (International Opticians Association) in partnership with SILMO Paris, encourages and rewards opticians for their vision and commitment to promoting the values of their profession. For the first time, it’s a Frenchman who has won this 2023 award: Jean-François Porte, co-founder of the Edgard group and vice-president of the Rassemblement des Opticiens de France.

The future of the industry is at the heart of the themes addressed by SILMO Paris.

SILMO NEXT retraced the latest technological innovations and major advances in Smart Eyewear, phygital experiences and eco-responsible design. In addition to this immersive retrospective, FUTUROLOGY unveiled unique experience zones for testing smart products, discovering new trends in virtual reality, and experimenting with an innovative approach to sustainable production.

Design is king at the show, and is expressed in two ways.

The first is the TRENDS FORUM, a space set up at the entrance to the show to enable visitors to immerse themselves in the major trends, thanks to a thematic selection of optical and sunglass frames from exhibitors present at the show. These trends are also illustrated in issue 33 of the digital magazine TRENDS by SILMO.

The second was the OPTICAL DESIGN CONTEST, reserved for design school students from all over the world; for this second edition, they were invited to brainstorm on a topical theme: sport. The jury, made up of optics and design professionals and chaired by Marie-Christine Dorner, interior architect, designer and scenographer, selected the Tribi concept by Hugo Plessis, a student at ESDAC in Lille: multifunctional eyewear for triathlon and biathlon. In addition to recognition in the world of optical eyewear, the winner and his school each received a cheque for 5,000 euros from the show.

On the subject of sport, with the Rugby World Cup being held in parallel with the show, and in anticipation of the Paris Olympics in 2024, SILMO ACADEMY scientific symposium focused on optimizing performance and guaranteeing success, during its training and discussion session. This theme was approached from two angles: the performance of the optical professional and the performance of the patient. The various speakers unveiled performance measures for visual health, acuity or quality of life, shared good precautions and practices throughout life to optimize eye health, and stressed how important it is to associate optimally corrected vision with  performance,  whether  for  professional  reasons,  academic  success,  sporting  success  or safety, as in driving a car.

The sharing of information and best practices also finds an echo in THE TALKS: in a dedicated, open space, a variety of speakers – exhibitors, experts, journalists, observers… – address topical themes in 30 minutes. And for visitors who don’t have the time to take advantage of them during the  four  days  of  the  show,  these  Talks  will  be  available  in  their  entirety  on  video  on  the silmoparis.com website.

And even more with SILMO news, the whole trade fair live and on replay.

Every day at the trade fair, a daily news report summarises the events of the salon, completed by interviews, debates and live broadcasts to capture the impressions of visitors and exhibitors and to reveal the originality of products and companies… To watch and replay on silmoparis.com, YouTube, and all the social media of SILMO Paris.

One SILMO Paris closes its doors, another is in the works : until we meet again for an Olympic edition to be held from September 20 to 23, 2024

Click HERE for the full press release.