Eyeglasses.com Blog

Thinking about purchasing a new pair of eyewear for the upcoming season? A new collection was recently launched for this reason. The designer eyeglasses brand is called Anglo American Optical, and they were founded over a century ago. There are not many eyewear brands this old, particularly from the United Kingdom. The company, which was started in 1882, began producing eyewear by hand, elevating frame making to an art by combining a retro look with great looking elements. The British company specializes in custom handmade frames and is considered a premier brand in the UK. One of its claims to fame is that it is one of few manufacturers that can produce any zyl frame the customer desires without limitations. Anglo frames have been worn by well known stars such as Elton John and Woody Allen. The company’s products are considered a top quality product with the style and sophistication that entices people. There are not many collections that are as large as this one. The particular eyewear collection consists of more than 100 styles in a wide variety of colors with a special focus on multiple shades of tortoise shell. We have not seen a line this large for some time. While the collection leans toward masculine shapes, there are also certain frames designed for females. The company has put significant resources behind its marketing plan. In addition to the frames, marketing materials include a classic logo plaque and celebrity-inspired countercards. We will let you know how this new eyewear collection line ends up doing.  

In today’s world, it appears that designer eyeglasses are more popular than ever before. Season after season legions of customers expend large sums of money for the newest eyewear lines. If you are an aspiring designer, it looks to be a good time to enter the industry. The growth of sales has had a great impact. A recent report showed that more students from design programs are considering eyewear than ever before. Although many may have forgotten, times really have changed. Things were not always this way. At the same time, students seem to now see the benefits of the eyeglasses industry. To begin, there is more money in the industry now. Fans of eyewear are also willing to make large investments for a quality pair of eyeglasses. Most industries are not price elastic in the way eyeglasses are. In most situations, people are not willing to pay top dollar for the strongest brand names. Fortunately for eyewear designers, this is true with eyewear and there are many potential customers. We are not talking about a few thousand customers here. Every year more and more people purchase designer eyeglasses. This is particularly true abroad. International growth has been phenomenal, particularly in Asia. This region of the world continues to have an increasingly larger impact on bottom line for businesses. Additionally, another one of the positives about the vintage eyeglasses industry is that people who love the glasses tend to buy a lot of them. It is not just enough to buy one pair of vintage eyeglasses. Most people love to purchase many.

Here is an update on events in the eyeglasses world. The week a particularly large amount of activity was seen, as Safilo Group and the Celine brand agreed to a licensing agreement that is expected to last for up to 5 years. This particular partnership is for the for the distribution of Céline eyewear. It seems as if the Safilo Group has managed to partner with all of the leading brands. The company has really done a great job in its aggressive business development. From reports that we have seen, this should be a profitable contract for both brands. Unlike earlier collections from the brand, this collection is only geared towards the female market. The collection will be available as of January 2012 in boutiques and selected retail outlets worldwide. This was not the only news brought to light this past week. The designer eyeglasses brand Robinson agreed to a licensing agreement with Xcel Brands for the production of a new line. Although the company has been quite with details, we can expect to hear more about the brand in the upcoming year. With regards to new eyewear launches that have made headways in the news, Alain Mikli International recently launched the line Jean Paul Gaultier by Mikli eyewear. What was neat about this partnership is that the two designers have long been close fiends. The collection launches in the U.S. in the upcoming month and consists of 12 ophthalmic frames and eight sunglasses. The styles are offered in varying shades of black and ivory with no exterior logo. To end the article, Tura and Ted Baker, the U.K.-based designer, have agreed to a renewal of their agreement for the design, production and marketing of Ted Baker’s sun wear collection in North America. We hope you stay tuned for more exciting news from the eyeglasses world.

Here are some updates on the eyewear industry. This past month there seemed to be a particular amount of activity. A number of eyeglasses companies were very active this past month. One company was Signature Eyewear, which held a large event to announce their new line by Dakota Smith. Created for the next generation of young adults, the designer eyeglasses include some neat parts. The reason this line is interesting is because it is targeting a younger demographic. This seems to be a trend that many companies are moving into. Even larger brands such as Gucci eyeglasses are looking into this market. We are excited to see what occurs in this industry. The business is a new brand of Signature round eyeglasses and can be found everywhere. The reason this collection was built was to reach a younger audience. In other eyeglasses update, two rival companies Altair and Tommy Bahama have extended their collaboration for the sale of round eyeglasses. This should benefit both companies greatly. The company initially released the Tommy Bahama optical and sunwear collection five years ago at a large event. The eyewear was sold to small independent doctors and stores, Tommy Bahama retail locations, specialty retailers and resorts. We also heard some news with an established brand that every person has heard of. Marchon Eyewear has agreed to continue its partnership with NIKE, Inc. to design and produce the Nike Eyewear eyeglasses. Marchon seems to have partnered with a number of Fortune 500 brands. The company’s collaboration with the Nike brand began a long time ago. We are predicting great things to come about from this partnership.

Most people do not know about all of the great scientific research that is going into designer eyeglasses. Every year more and more researchers spend time refining lenses and frames. We heard much about this in the past month. From our sources, we were told that scientists are breaking the properties of eyeglasses into different layers. There are many important implications for designer eyeglasses in the future. The reason is that this allows patients to better wear eyeglasses. For many years, eyewear professionals have been looking for ways to better fit eyewear. Additionally, for individuals who have difficulty adjusting to a bifocal designer eyeglasses, this provides a solution. With this new research, patients can have a single-vision lens in their frame and put on that progressive when they want it. The best part is that it is less costly and bulky than a second pair of designer eyeglasses. A lot of individuals in the eyewear industry are already discussions the implications of this. Zelazowski, the known eyeglasses doctor, sees this as opening up a new dimension for new eyeglass frames. Not a lot of labs have jumped into this because it can be hard to do so the company is in the process of developing the eyeglasses and supplying the lenses with unique coating. We are excited to see what comes about from this in the future.

Here is an exciting new line that people have expecting for some time. The line is from Fusion Eyewear, which has become known for it’s blend of European and Asian eyewear. As eyewear sales continues to grow in Asia, we are expecting this company to continue to receive attention. The company has done a great job in capitalizing on this by launching their new line. Last week the very well known round eyeglasses firms, Fusion Eyewear, launched a special line in New York. It is exciting to see how this line does. This was not all the news that occurred in the eyewear industry. Polaroid Eyewear, a well regarded provider of eyewear, has agreed to an international round eyeglasses licensing agreement for the launch of a new collection. We are expecting this line to sell very well throughout the globe. These round eyeglasses might be really successful. The eyeglasses frames will work with all RealD 3D enabled movie theatres, computer and game screens around the world.  This round eyeglasses launch collection will feature a range of designs for all consumers. We think the media is going to give great coverage for these round eyeglasses. To end the article, the round eyeglasses company Eyewear Inventions LLC has filed for a patent for its eyeglass frames, reading glass, and other eyewear products. The Carabineer concept, which has a U.S. patent, was created by a well regarded scientist. The founder is very focused on great eyeglasses for a smooth and convenient access. The founder continues to play a large role in the brand’s growth, which is great to see.

One of the trends we have seen this year is the move towards more expensive designer eyeglasses. Part of the reason seems to be the improvement in the economy. Now that people are  more comfortable financially, people seem seem to be more apt to purchase eyewear such as Gucci eyeglasses. We are interested to see if this trend with  eyeglasses brands continues. One high-end designer eyeglasses brand, Cartier, has been particularly active this past month. The eyewear brand recently launched Premiere Cartier, which is its first expensive eyeglass frames line. This eyewear collection has really impressed us. Included are three round eyeglasses styles, which is less than normal. The round eyeglasses are styled by their frames and three colors are featured on each side of the frame fronts. We had expected the collection to include more frames, however we are very impressed with the frames that do exist. Additionally in round eyeglasses news, Classique Eyewear released their new collection inspired by a musician. The first line contains 13 styles, and each round eyeglass is named after one of her songs. We really enjoyed each of the names of the frames. This was not the only high-end designer eyeglasses brand that has been active. Another reputable round eyeglasses company, Marchon Eyewear has extended its exclusive global licensing agreement with Adidas, Inc. to launch the Adidas Eyewear Collection. Marchon’s licensing and design partnership with the company began over a decade ago. It is great to see the partnership continuing to go well.

We were excited to hear that a new line was launching from one of our favored brands, Safilo eyewear. We think the brand is preparing itself for a great 2012. There are a number reasons why we believe this. First, as opposed to competing in the highest priced designer eyeglasses market, Safilo creates more affordable lenses. The reason why this is important is that the company is creating its eyewear for a much larger market. Although they may make less money on each pair of frames, they do expect to sell  a significantly higher number of frames. Safilo has already been surprisingly successful. This may come as a surprise to many people, because they are not nearly as well known as other brands. Part of the reason is because how competitive and resource-heavy the incumbents in this industry are. Brands such as Versace eyeglasses are willing to do a lot to ensure that they remain on top. These are the brands that people normally think of. There are not many industries that are as competitive as the designer eyeglasses one. It is certainly a challenge for brands to compete in this market. Safilo round eyeglasses have been around for a long time, however it seems like they are catching their break now. This new collection stood out for a number of reasons, but primarily because the lenses include patented technology. You cannot say that about all designers eyeglasses. In fact, we cannot think of many brands who utilize this technology. In the future we are expecting more brands to integrate technology, so Safilo is on the forefront of a strong trend.

Interested in seeing what you favorite stars are wearing? A number of celebrities were recently spotted wearing great looking eyewear. The first celebrity spotted was well known actress Kate Hudson. Kate came to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in the movie Almost Famous. When Kate arrived in London she was sporting an oversized butterfly sunnies style Bianca 149 from Ørgreen Optics. The designer eyeglasses frames certainly look great on her. Although Kate has been in the news less recently because she is spending more time with her family, we are expecting to see a great 2012 from her. Later, Bonnie Raitt was found wearing SPECtacular Sigrid Olsen style SO117 from Altair Eyewear. Bonnie is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. Although her fan base may be smaller than more well known stars, people who know her work are large supporters of the artist.

Additionally, NBA all-star Carmelo Anthony was seen in John Varvatos Eyewear Style V903 from Base Curve/A Luxury Division of Rem Eyewear. Carmelo Anthony is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks in the NBA. The Knicks have certainly been exciting to watch ever since Carmelo moved to the city. The team is expected to compete for championship this year. Lastly, the son of superstar Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Osbourne was seen wearing Carrera Champion shades from Sàfilo USA. Jack shot to fame in 2002 after appearing in his family's reality television show The Osbournes, which aired on MTV and won an Emmy Award in 2002. Although he tries to stay out of the lime light today, he is still recognizable through the country. People cannot hide their interest in the famous family. Stay tuned for more on your favorite stars and their eyewear.

Some eyewear trends seem to never go out of style. A perfect example of this are crystal eyewear frames. For a long time, people wrote off the trend as dead. However, today we are seeing a number of new crystal eyewear lines being launched. Clearly designer eyewear brands are realizing that there is a market for these frames. We have heard rumors that some established brands are even considering creating crystal lines. It seems like crystal round eyeglasses might be making a comeback. This is something that many people would be surprised to hear, as it seems like this style was very recently abandoned. However, it is always difficult to determine what the newest trends in fashion will be. Even top designers have difficult with this. One particular collection of crystal designer eyeglasses that we like is by Silhouette. Silhouette has built a strong reputation for spearheading a number of new trends. The name is very emblematic of the look of the collection. The collection was created specifically for women. Having been made in Austria, the collection includes half a dozen designer eyeglasses. We do not see too many collections originate from this region of the world. Each model is unique and the designer eyeglasses showcase four looks that cover a number of looks. We’ve heard fantastic things about the designer eyeglasses. A lot of effort is going into the marketing of the new glasses. For consumers, the Crystal Collection can be seen as similar to jewels. It will be interesting to see what turns this trend ends up taking.