LINES & LAUNCHES
Brand New
The newest sunwear and ophthalmic eyewear collections from around the globe
SAFETY AT PLAY
WILEY X ROLLS OUT YOUTH FORCE SPORTS PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR LINE
Wiley X, Inc., has launched its first Rx-ready eyewear specifically for boys and girls: Youth Force Sports Protective Eyewear. Providing a range of frame sizes, styles, and colors to meet the needs of young athletes, the collection kicks off with four models: the WX Flash, WX Victory, WX Fierce, and WX Gamer. The 12 colors include rock candy pink, royal blue, lime green, graphite black, electric blue, matte blue, and matte black.
All Youth Force glasses meet the ASTM F803 Sports Protective Eyewear standard, delivering state-of-the-art protection. Each Youth Force style is a different size, fitting children ages six to 13. All Youth Force glasses are designed to change from spectacles to goggles via the push of a button that allows wearers to remove the temples and replace them with the included adjustable elastic strap.
All frames are Rx-Ready, utilizing Wiley X’s DIGIFORCE digital Rx lens technology.
INFO: 800-776-7842, wileyx.com
TO THE MARKET
“We designed the line with quality, safety, and style in mind. With their stylish looks, kid-friendly colors, and fun accessories, children will love to wear Youth Force glasses, both on and off the field. And with our long tradition of providing advanced vision protection, parents can be confident that their children are well-protected during games, practices, and everyday activities.”
— Myles Freeman, Jr., Wiley X co-founder
CAFÉ LIFE
SILVER DOLLAR OPTICAL DELIVERS CAFÉ BOUTIQUE BRAND
Silver Dollar expands its Café Lunettes brand with a new collection focusing on refined styling and colors, Café Boutique. The target market for the new line is today’s woman who is seeking a more polished look in eyewear.
The collection features sophisticated chic looks, rich tones, and easy-to-wear-shapes. An initial release of 13 styles begins this month, with the offerings reaching 21 new looks by Spring 2015, company representatives note.
Split evenly between metal and zyl looks, each frame in the Café Boutique collection comes with an engraved case in a champagne color.
Zyl will be offered in top-to-bottom fades on the fronts as well as marbled Mazzuchelli zyl. Select metal styles will also carry Mazzuchelli zyl temples.
Each frame comes with a case. Also available are a five-piece display, countercards, and a logo plaque, as well as a dispensing table mirror.
INFO: 800-962-3200, silverdollaroptical.com
TO THE MARKET
“We are extremely excited to be launching our new Café Boutique collection. We have always felt that fashion should be accessible to everyone, every day, and we think this collection offers that. Café Boutique has easy-to-wear shapes that are adorned tastefully to bring out the beauty of the wearer.”
— Dave Lewis, regional manager, Silver Dollar Optical
DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS
CLEARVISION PRESENTS ASPIRE EYEWEAR
The Aspire Eyewear brand will launch this month through ClearVision Optical, and will be offered exclusively to selected eyecare professionals. Aspire incorporates the latest technology and advanced materials, resulting in high-quality, lightweight proprietary nylon composite frames with a new modern aesthetic in 12 models—six men’s and six women’s styles, with some crossover.
The collection features three colors for each model, including solids and gradient fades, in sizes ranging from 46 to 53, with a light-weight and proprietary nose pad system.
The frames have a “V” groove for ease of edging, insertion, and retention of polycarbonate, high-index, and Trivex lenses. Frames should not be heated for lens insertion, company representatives note. Merchandising items will include product displays, brand IDs, countercards, in-store graphics, and dispensing tray. An advertising campaign is in progress, along with the development of an Aspire video series. Two introductory videos will coincide with the launch. The brand will also be visible on social media.
INFO: 800-645-3733, cvoptical.com
TO THE MARKET
“We created Aspire Eyewear to connect with progressive, ‘aspirational’ men and women who show their individuality through fashion and unique accessories; it allows them to show what they aspire to be. Utilizing the latest advances in materials, bespoke design and manufacturing techniques, Aspire eyewear was born.”
— Peter Friedfeld, executive vice president, ClearVision Optical
CROCODILE OPT
A&A OPTICAL UNLEASHES CROCS EYEWEAR
A&A Optical will distribute Crocs eyewear throughout the United States. The Crocs collection features adult eyewear with a relaxed and distinctly fun Crocs spirit, incorporating the unique style and creative design in terms of colors, shapes, materials, and comfort of the brand’s products. The 12-piece, 36-SKU ophthalmic eyewear collection uses an assortment of materials such as ultra-lightweight stainless steel, hypo-allergenic silicone rubber, and flexible polymer, company representatives note.
Crocs eyewear features ergonomic designs to ensure a comfortable fit and lightweight feel. The eyewear reflects its brand heritage by incorporating the bold colors, sleek lines, and lightweight silicone rubber material in a palette of vibrant colors that is iconic to Crocs shoes. The collection features a comprehensive assortment of soft curving designs for women and clean-cut lines for men for fun and active lifestyle eyewear.
INFO: 800-492-4465, aaopticalco.com
TO THE MARKET
“Crocs eyewear is the perfect complement to the A&A brand portfolio. The styles are colorful and use new, high-tech materials to make the frames extremely lightweight. Everyone who has seen the collection is impressed by the look, feel, and touch of the frames.”
— Robert Liener, A&A Optical president and CEO
SHARP-DRESSED MEN
MARCOLIN SENDS ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA EYEWEAR DOWN THE RUNWAY
Ermenegildo Zegna presents its new eyewear collection featuring eyewear and sunglasses for men produced and distributed for the first time by the Marcolin Group. The new pieces embody the aesthetic principles of the brand—a pursuit of excellence and innovative spirit.
Thoughtfully crafted, the collection is created to enhance the quality of the materials used in this eyewear collection, such as titanium, leather, and wood. Timeless elegance and refined style are paired with Zeiss lenses for easy-to-wear sunglasses for sophisticated men. The sunglasses feature temples with leather inserts in some models, while others include wood detailing that creates a contrast with the acetate temple tips.
Combinations of materials, contrasting lines, and transparency are the buzzwords of the line’s ophthalmic frames as well, with details such as refined colors that include blue, gray or brown available in transparent and opaque tones, black, dark havana.
INFO: 800-345-8482, us.marcolin.com
TO THE MARKET
The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is a luxury menswear brand founded in 1910 in Trivero, part of Italy’s Biella Alps, by Ermenegildo Zegna. The company is managed today by the fourth generation of the Zegna family with Gildo Zegna as CEO. Since the late 1980s, the company has implemented a comprehensive strategy of verticalization, creating a global luxury brand which now ranges from fabric to clothing to accessories.
GLASSES U WANT
MARK MOTHERSBAUGH AND SHANE BAUM CREATE NEW COLLECTION
With the 40th anniversary of Devo—the American rock, punk, new wave, and synthpop band—on the horizon, band members—and the public—can opt for new signature frames to go with their hats.
From his work with Devo to creating film and television scores and his unique art installations, Mark Mothersbaugh creates inspired work beyond categorization—and his eyewear collaboration with Shane Baum, Motherbaugh x Baum, is no exception. His new branded imprint, Mothersbaugh, will deliver artistic interpretations in a variety of categories for creative consumers. With the goal of designing distinctive products that embody his imagination and spirit, the first category under the banner is eyewear. Styles in the Mothersbaugh x Baum collection include Akronite, Mutato, and Francesca. Made in Italy, the collection includes sunglasses and ophthalmic frames.
Mothersbaugh’s history of wearing eyewear make this product well suited for his eponymous brand. A nearly blind child whose first glimpse through glasses inspired a lifetime of artwork, glasses have always been a conduit for his personal artistic journey.
INFO: 866-415-8842, baumvision.com
TO THE MARKET
“Knowing how his glasses influenced his life and work in such a significant way, I wanted to create something that was reflective of Mark as a person, performer, and an artist. To get to work with an artist like Mark felt like almost a selfish pursuit…and I owed it to him to interpret his vision and deliver a product that would showcase a distinctive, smart, and unexpected collection.”
— Shane Baum, owner, Baumvision
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