Vision Expo East announced that it has partnered with Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the daily media of record and authority of the global fashion, retail and beauty communities, bringing the industry greater media exposure at the upcoming show taking place at the Javits Center in New York, NY (Education: March 15–18; Exhibition: March 16–18).

On Friday, March 16, at 1:00 p.m. ET in the Galleria Lounge (Booth G280), WWD Studios Editor Liz Doupnik will join Vision Expo to moderate a livestreaming panel titled “Eye on Design: An Exclusive Talk with Influential Eyewear Designers at Vision Expo,” featuring leading creative visionaries in the eyewear industry. The panel will be promoted to more than 4 million WWD social media followers and livestreamed on the outlet’s Facebook page.

The panel will include insights from the industry’s leading designers and provide a behind-the-scenes look at their design processes. Panelists include:

• Vladimiro Baldin, chief product & design officer at Safilo Group
• Gai Gherardi, co-founder and co-designer of l.a.Eyeworks
• Laura Howard, eyewear designer at Kenmark Eyewear

Each panelist touts a plethora of experience in the eyewear design realm. Laura Howard oversees design of the Zac Posen women’s optical and sun collections plus his runway collection, as well as the Vera Wang runway collection and Lilly Pulitzer. Vladimiro Baldin oversees innovation, design and product development for Safilo Group on a global scale for proprietary brands and the entire licensed brands portfolio. Gai Gherardi is the co-founder and co-designer of l.a.Eyeworks, the renowned brand from southern California that celebrates glasses as vehicles for individual expression.

Visit VisionExpoNY.com for the full schedule of events taking place in the Galleria Lounge, including fashion-focused Pop Up Talks from highly regarded editors and forward-thinking retail owners, or to register for Vision Expo East.