A graduate of the ESMOD School of Fashion Design  (First  Prize  in  the  Haute  Couture category), Nicolas Fafiotte trained in Paris – particularly with Emmanuel Ungaro – before moving to Lyon in the early 2000s. He opened his design workshop, offering bespoke wedding dresses  and  evening  gowns,  just  off  Place Bellecour. He crafts “exceptional garments for exceptional occasions that express celebration,” in his words. The designer wins clients over with his sense of style and his exacting perfectionism. 

The  champion  of  French-style savoir-faire has a talent for designing sublime gowns that impressed Sylvie Tellier, Miss Lyon 2001, who became Miss France 2002 the same year.  Brought  into  the  spotlight  and  indeed flung to centre stage of the fashion world, he in turn became a loyal supporter of the extensively covered national competition, creating prestigious dresses for the event’s finalists.

Forever on the move and yet careful to choose his collaborations parsimoniously, he regularly works with other brands to create, for example, a jewellery line, handbags, accessories, and the spectacular looks of the “Live Show d’Etam Lingerie”. He also designed the capsule collection “Pronuptia by Nicolas Fafiotte” that was presented at the 2022 edition of Miss France.

Curious to discover other creative worlds, Nicolas Fafiotte was eager to take on the prestigious role of President of the SILMO d’OR awards, especially since he is a native of Oyonnax, in the Ain region, that is the cradle of the French glasses industry. This coincidence is a sign of good things to come for the next edition of the ever-as-sought-after SILMO d’OR awards, to be held in an unprecedented venue of the French capital. As a fashion designer for exceptional occasions, Nicolas Fafiotte is greatly honoured to turn his perfectionist (and glamourous!) eye on the nominated products.

Join us on October 1 at the SILMO d’OR space of SILMO Paris to discover the big winners of 2023!

Click HERE for the full press release,

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Thanks to support from the optometry profession, alumni and donors across Canada, the University of Waterloo will begin construction next year on the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI), a state-of-the-art facility supporting advances in vision research, optometric education and patient care.

At a celebration at Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science on September 19, gifts totalling $8.5 million from two of the country’s leading vision care providers — FYidoctors and IRIS, The Visual Group — were announced.

These contributions and those of other generous donors have enabled the School to turn the corner on its $35 million Seeing Beyond 2020 campaign, making the construction of the Waterloo Eye Institute a reality.

“The Waterloo Eye Institute is needed more than ever as we face a national and global vision crisis, with one in five Canadians at risk of losing their sight from eye disease,” said Dr. Stanley Woo, director of the School.

Dr. Vivek Goel, Waterloo’s president and vice-chancellor, noted that “the WEI will leverage both the School of Optometry’s expertise and the University’s unconventional and collaborative approaches to research and education as well as provide excellent care for patients in our community.” 

The FYidoctors network has made a historical contribution, donating $5 million in support of the WEI (including a $2.5 million corporate donation and $2.5 million in contributions from the company’s individual optometrists). IRIS has generously donated $2.5 million, in addition to an earlier $1 million gift to the WEI, made in November 2022.

With 67,000 square feet of new and renovated space, the WEI will push the boundaries of eye and vision care, clinical education and research to benefit patients in the Waterloo region and across the country.

“The WEI represents the future of optometry in Canada, and it will provide world-class education opportunities, equipping the next generation of optometrists to provide quality eye care. Students will gain immensely by working alongside healthcare professionals and experts in the WEI’s modernized clinic,” said Dr. Alan Ulsifer (OD ’90), CEO of FYidoctors.  

On top of advancing optometric education and patient care, the WEI has the potential to shape the future of health care. Using the eye as a window to the brain, WEI researchers will deploy their expertise in AI, biomedical sciences and digital imagery to develop new treatments for widespread conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes.

Dr. Daryan Angle (OD ’01), vice-president of business development at IRIS, said: “Our support for the WEI aligns with IRIS’s commitment to funding eye and vision research and innovation. We hope to advance the profession in a way that keeps optometry in Canada healthy, strong and moving forward.”

Seeing Beyond 2020: The Waterloo Eye Institute video:

Click HERE for the full press release.