NEW YORK—On Thursday, the Accessories Council hosted their first annual Design Excellence Awards as part of their 25th anniversary year. The awards ceremony, held at the Plaza Hotel in New York, honored outstanding design in footwear, handbags, jewelry, watches, social impact, soft accessories, tech and innovations, travel and luggage, and eyewear categories. This year, Safilo’s Jimmy Choo and Marchon’s Chloe both took home awards. In addition, Luxottica’s Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer Classic was honored as an accessories icon with the Hall of Fame award.

The eyewear nominations were separated into optical and sun categories. In the optical category, the Finalists were: ClearVision Optical, for their Amazing glasses from Aspire; Covry Eyewear, for the Chara Peony style; Flexon for their Black Collection; Safilo’s Jimmy Choo for style JC228; and Tura Inc.’s Mini 741001 BLS. The winner was Safilo’s Jimmy Choo.


Fabrizio Uguzzoni of Luxottica Wholesale receives the Hall of Fame award from Vision Monday's Marge Axelrad.


Marchon Eyewear's Susan Moniello accepts Chloe's award.
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The sunwear Finalists were: Marcolin’s Atelier Swarovski Eyewear for style SK0240-P; Marchon’s Chloe Curtis; Safilo’s Fendi for style FF 0399/S; Safilo’s Givenchy for the GV Shower; and Randolph Engineering’s 23K White Gold Aviator Sunglasses with AGX Polarized Skytectm Glass Lens. The winner was Marchon’s Chloe Curtis design.

The Hall of Fame award, previously announced but awarded on Thursday, recognized a product that has stood the test of time, is iconic, and is instantly recognizable. Fabrizio Uguzzoni, president, Luxottica Wholesale NA, accepted the award, which was determined by the Accessories Council Board and presented at the DEA luncheon by Marge Axelrad, SVP/Editorial Director of Vision Monday.


Safilo USA's Victoria Hallberg and Eden Wexler accept the award for Jimmy Choo.

The finalists for the Design Excellence Awards were determined by the Accessories Council Board and the AC DEA committee. The winners were then chosen via a public vote, as VMAIL previously reported. Sponsors of the Design Excellence Awards are Accessories Circuit, Donatello Arm, Launchmetrics, Marchon Eyewear, NANO, QVC/HSN and Swarovski.