Holly Rush, president of Luxottica
Wholesale North America, agrees,
saying luxury eyewear can fill an
“aspirational desire” for consumers.
“What may be unattainable to
consumers in the handbag or fashion
categories is within reach in eyewear
and, consequently, consumers can
own a statement piece from a luxury
brand that they display prominently
on their faces,” she said.
Luxottica's extensive brand portfolio
includes some of the top names on
the planet.
Their licensed brands include
Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Bvlgari,
Chanel, Coach, Dolce&Gabbana,
DKNY, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren,
Prada, Tiffany and Versace, while
their proprietary brands include
Ray-Ban, Oakley and Vogue.
"
IT’S ON YOUR FACE
SO IT SAYS A LOT
ABOUT WHO YOU
ARE. IT’S A PERSONAL
CONNECTION AND
SOMETIMES AN
EXTENSION OF
ONE’S OWN
'CALLING CARD'
Rush said the company works
closely with its licence partners
to capture the essence of each
brand in the respective collection
and to create “beautiful, longlasting and functional pieces”
that complement each customers’
personal style.
“The design and quality of
Luxottica’s products are world
renowned,”she said.
“Painstaking craftsmanship by
highly-skilled experts is a unique
hallmark of our collections.
Crystals and other details are
hand-applied, acetates are custom
blended to the highest levels of
colour quality and consistency,
frames and components are milled and polished by hand
and high-quality crystal lenses are used across our collections.”
Marchon also has an extensive brand portfolio that
includes a list of top designer names, including Calvin
Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, Sean John, Valentino and
18 Optical Prism | September 2015
"
Salvatore Ferragamo as well as
Lacoste and Nike.
“Our collections embody the inherent DNA of the respective brand.
There's no mistaking our eyewear
collections, they are the very best
of what the brand message has to
convey,” said Ginsberg. People who
value design and craftsmanship
purchase luxury eyewear, he said.
“They treat their frames no different
than their favorite leather good or
statement jewelry piece. It’s on
your face so it says a lot about who
you are. It’s a personal connection
and sometimes an extension of
one’s own'calling card,'” he said.
Fabrizio Gamberini, chief
executive officer of Marcolin USA
Eyewear Corp, said people who
want to look fashionable at every
moment of their life, including
while on business and travelling,
purchase luxury eyewear.
“The audience consists of brand
lovers with an amazing passion
for design, product, material,
features and innovation,” he said.
When people purchase luxury
eyewear, they feel closer to the
brand in many ways, he added.
“Not only do you want to resemble
the essence and the DNA of the
brand, but you want to establish
a true fashion statement for
yourself,” he said.
He said Marcolin, which has a
portfolio that includes Tom Ford,
Guess, Swarovski and Kenneth
Cole, also works very closely with the designers for their
brands in all phases of production.
“We develop concepts and ideas together and verify
them with key customers and salespeople as well as
endusers. We edit the concepts at the prototype stage
with their feedback and finalize them for further review.