SILMO 2024 : Expanding Boundaries of Fashion & Technology

The atmosphere was vibrant, the displays were colourful, the crowds chaotic, and there was plenty of business being done.

Compelling niche exhibition concepts, including a competition for design students and the ‘Futurology’ area, revealed fascinating high-tech products, some of which were at concept stage, while others are already on the market. And then there was the main exhibition area, packed with frames, lenses, and devices.

Attracting 32,300 visitors from around the world, this year’s tradeshow showcased 1,500 brands, presented by 900 exhibitors over a massive 75,000 m² of space. It was all-consuming.

From highly technical minimalist frames to rimless designs, from large 70s inspired acetates, to multi-coloured asymmetrical shapes; as always, there was something for every market at SILMO. I didn’t notice as much wood or horn as I have in the past, although with 900 exhibitors to visit, I could well have missed it.

To provide guidance on trends, SILMO neatly categorised stand out frames into four categories with the ‘best of the best’ on display immediately on arrival:

Free Colourama: Acetate frames were described as “bursting with bright, cheerful colours, or muted and intense”. There were monochrome, two-tone, three-tone, and multi coloured frames in a range of shapes and sizes.

Classic Variations: Reinventions of timeless styles signalling longevity and durability, with elegant, relaxed lines.

Full Sun: Sunglasses, SILMO noted, are increasingly important within the eyewear sector, and well-integrated into the collections of major fashion and luxury brands. Interestingly, within this selection, there was a wide range of original, logo free sunglasses.

Virtuous Simplicity: Minimalist eyewear that was “quiet but not boring” with a variety of airy, luminous shapes. Metal dominated, although there was an impressive array of acetate frames on display too.

Big Brands

I was fortunate to spend time with Barbara De Rigo, Chief Marketing Officer of De Rigo eyewear and the daughter of the company’s founders.

As she explained, the company, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995, has “two souls”: the wholesale business and the retail business (De Rigo has stores in Spain, Portugal, and Türkiye, and partners with health and beauty retailer Boots in the United Kingdom).

Police was De Rigo’s first house brand and one that remains close to Ms De Rigo’s heart because, she said, it changed the eyewear industry for good by introducing seasonal collections in line with the fashion industry.

She signalled a coming collaboration for Police that will pique the interest of Australians. She also said the company is collaborating with Rodenstock to reposition the brand with a higher price point while retaining its DNA, (e.g. technicalities like German engineering).

Recognising a gap in its collection, De Rigo recently introduced Yalea, a house brand of women’s eyewear with a purpose.

“With the Yalea brand, we support many associations and foundations around the world… that try to make women independent. We’re not just supporting them economically, but training them, teaching them how to build a life and to become independent economically, as well as having a role in the family.”

Yalea also collaborates with health awareness organisations like Know Your Lemons, an awareness campaign for early breast cancer detection.

Setting an Example

Another exhibitor with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility (CSR) was Vaani, the first Italian eyewear company to become a Società Benefit (a company that combines the goal of profit with the purpose of creating a positive impact for society and the environment, and which operates in a transparent, responsible and sustainable way). This family-owned Italian eyewear company was a co-winner of SILMO’s first CSR award, alongside Skan. Alessandra Girardi, co-owner and sustainability manager of Vanni, said she was inspired to become a Società Benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic, which “provided an opportunity to redesign and rethink ourselves”.

Someone else recognised for making “an absolute difference in the world of frames” was Hans Stepper, the founder of STEPPER EYEWEAR. At a special awards event led by the International Opticians Association, we heard that Mr Stepper has worked in the industry for 70 years, “starting as an optician learning his trade, and finding a passion for frames and materials, and frames that actually fit and stay in the right place when the lenses are in”.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Saskia Stepper, Director of STEPPER EYEWEAR Ltd, who has played a significant role in the business development and direction of the company. She shared memories of growing up immersed in the family business.

“All the family was able to work on every machine… my mum, my dad, my sister, and I went (to the workshop) on the weekend. One was injection moulding; another on tumbling. The other one was putting the colours on and lacquering. So, we knew it from scratch.”

Ms Stepper said those early days developed in her a love of frames and colours that continues to this day, and she was quick to tell me that STEPPER EYEWEAR is not about trends; some of the bestsellers have been around for over 15 years. “We are not the trend, we are contemporary classic.”

Every frame is made in house using a unique injection moulding process, with most colours (except black) and patterns applied to the frame before being lacquered.

And that means, “we are not dependent on any supplier for colours. We can do whatever we like,” she said.

Launching at SILMO was STEPPER EYEWEAR’S new STEPPER Start collection, designed in collaboration with Dr Alicia Thompson, from the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, who completed her PhD on paediatric facial anthropometry for spectacle design.

Peter Reeve from STEPPER EYEWEAR’s management board explained that the frames are designed for a perfect fit. Interchangeable nose ‘bridge’ fittings and extendable temples mean the frames can be fine-tuned, according to facial characteristics. The collection extends from young children to young adults (age 16).

Pushing Colour Boundaries

A show is not a show without stopping by l.a.eyeworks to chat with Gai Gherardi, who is renowned for her dazzling colour combinations and designs. Ms Gherardi said for her, producing something new is like working through a “washtub of ideas”.

“They swell. So maybe I see something great in street fashion, or maybe I see the reflection on a window somewhere, or maybe I’m walking on the beach, and I see something. And all this goes into this big, big pile until it kind of rises like the swell of a wave and then tips and becomes something… it’s not one thing… I’m interested in pop culture. I’m interested in people. I look at art, I’m interested in music, I love to travel.”

Interestingly, the temple of every l.a.eyeworks frame is inspired by the foot of the Australian green tree frog.

Following a dream, Ms Gherardi bought some Australian green tree frogs and they lived in a terrarium on her desk, becoming so comfortable that they would climb her arms to sit on her head.

One day while watching a frog she thought, “Oh, this is what the temple tip needs to look like”.

“So that was it. From that moment we made every design with what we call the frog toe temple tip.”

Another brand with an extraordinary sense of colour is Kirk and Kirk. I spoke to Karen Kirk at SILMO 10 years ago, just as the company started. Her husband and business partner, Jason Kirk, comes from a family of eyewear designers and opticians. Kirk and Kirk has developed its own patented acrylic called K-Lite, and as the name suggests, it’s incredibly light, even when used in over-sized frames.

“We’ve been working on that material for 15 years, and we have been very specific to produce something that nobody else has got,” Mr Kirk explained.

Unlike acetates, K-Lite enables colours to gradually meld together, which Mr Kirk finds “much more aesthetically pleasing”.

Despite the bold shapes and brilliant colours, Mr Kirk believes frames “shouldn’t stand out from the face”, but rather “be part of your personality”.

“If you’re a gregarious person and you want to wear something that suggests that, great; but a lot of people just don’t. But you can still wear a bright colour, a really strong colour, if it looks natural, it doesn’t look shocking at all… it’s about wearing with confidence.”

Patrick Hoet, from Hoet Eyewear in Belgium, is another designer who believes eyewear should not stand out from the face. While muted in colour, his frames are exceptional for the simplicity of shape and fine detail that can only be achieved using 3D printing. Having designed eyewear for 25 years, initially using traditional methods of manufacture, Mr Hoet said he continues to be “amazed by the possibilities” of 3D production.

A fifth-generation optician, his eyewear is definitely high end and priced accordingly. However, he would argue, the price is worth it because Hoet Eyewear is a long-term investment. His first 3D frame – the 01 – is still the most popular seller some 12 years on.

“I don’t make fashion. I hate fashion. We try to make things that stay in,” he told me.

Breaking into Australia

Making its first sale to an Australian business at SILMO was Zurich-based company, read on. Coming from backgrounds in optical and industrial design, Sandra Kaufmann and Monika Fink, founders of the Swiss eyewear brand Sol Sol Ito, came up with the concept for read on readers back in 2019. Their first iteration was a sleek reader that slid into a mobile phone case. They’ve followed this with a new model (available in four different diopters from one to 2.5) that slips into a protective case and hangs around the wearer’s neck or can be tied to a handbag/ backpack etc. Sometimes the simplest things are the most complex to produce and so it was with the read on brand. Made from TR90, Ms Fink said, “It took us two years to have this invention ready for the market and to have it so thin it was just possible”. Everything has been designed with intent, right through to the presentation of 50 sleek, colour-coded boxed frames, ready for retail display.

And then there was Isabelle Strouck, who has just launched her first collection of temple-free eyewear, under the brand name M’as-tu vue, and is keen to find a market Down Under. Made in France, M’as-tu vue frames are held in place with a carefully designed bridge and a decorative chain that combines metal and chunky acetates. The wearer puts the frame to the face, slips the neck chain behind the ears and lets it fall to their back or brings it to the front. When not worn, the frame falls with the chain, becoming part of the necklace. A true piece of jewellery, Ms Strouck told me she came up with the concept when she became presbyopic and found herself sometimes needing visual correction, sometimes not. She has perfectly matched the tones of her frames with the chains.

Special Mention

Finally, special mention must go to Hugo Martin from Parasite, whose 20-year-old company took out the Special Jury Prize at the SILMO d’Or awards.

Coming from a background of opticians, Mr Martin told me he never intended to work in the same industry, however as many do, he fell into it and established Parasite in his early 20s.

He described Parasite Eyewear as “a kind of revolutionary eyewear” that fuses design with functionality, drawing on a “concept called stereo with double temples”.

All of his sales are to independent opticians, and mostly in Europe (particularly France), North America, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Defining his customers, he said they range in age from 25 years to 80. “It’s not a demographic, it’s more like a psychological profile. It’s people who are very confident in themselves… They want to show their personality.”

As in Australia, the European independent market is shrinking, however many French franchises allow their partners to choose a portion of their own stock from outside the contracted suppliers. And Mr Martin said there’s always demand for something new and innovative.

“There’s always a bunch of opticians that are looking for something different… so there’s always a space for independent brands and special products… but we have to stick together.”

SILMO returns to Paris in 2025 from 26–29 September.