By Deirdre Carroll: Senior Editor
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| Deirdre Carroll: Senior Editor |
This marks the third month for
Vision Monday’s newest feature, the center-spread section known as Style.Pages, where we explore the relationship between fashion and eyewear and report on what eyewear consumers are buying, wearing and why.
At first blush, it may seem like a monthly feature devoted solely to the fashion of eyewear could be a bit ill-timed given our harsh economic realities, but it is becoming abundantly clear to us that its exactly times like these when its most important to offer something fresh, new and exciting.
This month’s center-spread feature is devoted to the eyewear buzz the Emmy-award winning reality show “American Idol” has generated this season, specifically by contestant Danny Gokey and his eyewear wardrobe that includes upwards of 18 frames. (See the Style.Pages center spread on pages 34 and 35) Consumers, like Danny, who are looking to build eyewear wardrobes are the ‘Holy Grail’ in this business and the good news is that they are not disappearing despite all the financial belt tightening.
There is still money to be made and it is the smart companies, who continue to offer something new to their customers, who are the ones capitalizing on it. Over the last several months, we have reported on a number of companies who are still signing new licenses to produce eyewear: Marchon signed fashion legend Diane Von Furstenburg, Revolution inked a deal with True Religion, Zyloware announced a partnership with Natori, Logo Group is working with Salomon and Viva landed footwear powerhouse Sketchers, just to name a few. There is even exciting new technology on the market as evidenced by the launch of Switch Vision LLC and their patent-pending magnetic interchange lens technology. (See the full story on page 12)
I find it ironic that frame companies have been campaigning for years to earn eyewear’s place as a true fashion accessory and now, during some of the toughest economic times many of us have ever seen, that eyewear is making its greatest strides. Maybe all of the groundwork is starting to pay off or people are now fully embracing eyewear as one of the last financially attainable fashion items. Whatever the reason, just like the report in this issue claims, eyewear has truly become the ‘Ultimate Accessory.’ ■