SILMO Paris has launched the Optical Design Contest. For this first edition, the competition is chaired by Emmanuel Gallina, a designer known for his creative ethic, his sense of coherency and his authenticity.

Exercising his art between Bordeaux and Milan, Emmanuel Gallina designs furniture and objects for major brands and furnishes locations and interiors all over the world.

At the beginning of July, members of the jury gathered to evaluate the projects received and retain the most relevant among them. As a reminder, the Optical Design Contest was open to all students enrolled in a design course at a level equivalent or above third year post-baccalauréat.

The brief outlining the projects was precise and without creative restriction, they needed to integrate an ethical design approach for an optical object, be it lenses, frames, connected objects, low vision or equipment for opticians or manufacturers, etc. 

The jury members examined the applications with close attention and a particular focus on the creative and innovative design aspect, the use and function of the proposed object and the intrinsic feasibility of the project. The 7 projects selected will have the honour of producing a prototype and of being unveiled at SILMO Paris to name the winner for 2022:

• SI / Look to the future from Alessandro Battaini (NABA – New Academy of Fine Arts, Milan):  a pre-mounted glasses concept, interchangeable and versatile.

• KNOT / Inclusive Eyewear from Diego Sparta (Politecnico di Milano – Bovisa Durando Campus – Design School): a frame designed for disabled people.

• OORA from Silvana Migliozzi (Politecnico di Milano): smart glasses intended for readers, whose principal application is the ability to annotate text and save quotes… at a glance.

• SONDER from Sessa Martina (NABA – New Academy of Fine Arts, Milan): glasses fitted with sensors to avoid headaches, limit back problems and correct bad posture.

• PERCY from Jocelyne Boisson (Design School of Landes, Mont-de-Marsan): a moulded aquatic mask that questions the role of vision, to be seen without necessarily seeing.

• GOOGLESS from Vincenzo Panico (NABA – New Academy of Fine Arts, Milan): a modern reinvention of the nose clip and the monocle that plays on geometric shapes.

• UNFOLDABLE from Adi Abramov (Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, Ramat Gan, Israel): glasses made from recycled material in a brutalist aesthetic, with profiled X-hinge stems.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Opening in less than two months, is the 10th edition of DaTE – Shaping Avantgarde, set to take place from Saturday, September 10 to Monday, September 12 at the Leopolda in Firenze.

To date, 90 exhibitors have confirmed their participation in the show, representing more than 150 brands (data constantly updated). Many international companies will be on hand again this year: from France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, just some of the leading countries of origin. 

Follow this link for the list:  https://dateyewear.com/en/exhibitors/

“DaTE marked the turning point for eyewear industry events in Italy, it was the first in-person eyewear show in 2020 and in 2021, despite the ongoing health crisis, it hosted more than 1,500 domestic and international eyewear professionals and 130 brands. This year, at the 10th edition, we hope to equal and even exceed this achievement – remarked DaTE President Giovanni Vitaloni – thanks to our partnership with ITA (Italian Trade Agency). We would really like to increase the number of hosted international buyers, specifically from neighboring countries”.

Also in the works is the schedule of the special event Milano Eyewear Design Day by DaTE, to be held at the ADI Museum on Monday, October 17. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the show, DaTE will celebrate with an event for companies, buyers, journalists, stakeholders, designers, experts, students and eyewear connoisseurs, an occasion to share, build upon and cultivate new ideas for the future of eyewear.

It will also be an opportunity to conduct business: in a dedicated area, companies that specifically request it can meet privately with buyers to showcase their products, collections and latest innovations.

Click HERE for the full press release.