Issue #39November 25th 2015

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Armani on Brodway with Al Pacino

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Lika Minamoto for CharmantThe Japanese actress is the new face of the press campaign for the Line Art collection pg. 4

Fashion and luxury companies must adopt new strategies

“It’s time to choose”

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“It’s time to choose”

| Issue #39 | November 25th 2015

To grow in an increasingly global and competitive context, companies in the fashion and luxury segment must optimize productivity.

The 20th Pambianco Convention titled “Il momento delle scelte” (it’s time to choose), analysed the paths that fashion and luxury companies must follow in order to adapt to the changes in a market that is increasingly competitive and global. Over the past decade, the fashion sector showed unprecedented growth. In the last 5 years alone, demand has increased by 70 billion euros, 30% of the total, which is also due to the opening up of new and wealthy markets (China and emerging markets), price choices and the development of the distribution network, driven primarily by single-brand stores in addition to new channels like outlets, travel retail and online. With the slowing down of network expansion justified by the fact that the increase in store openings now exceeds the increase in demand, growth has moved from new openings (stores and markets) to the optimization of performance and the consequent increase in profitability and cash flow.

What emerged at the convention is that the future is rosy for three types of companies: luxury - a long-term growth segment thanks to increased wealth in emerging countries; accessible luxury – also a long-term growth segment because it is becoming the European benchmark (luxury costs too much) and is advantaged by the development in emerging countries of a middle-high social class with readily available money; retail chains – a long-term growth segment on the wave of the “democratization of beauty” in the retail distribution channel. In addition to these three types are companies with much lower performance levels.But they will have important challenges to face. The first (luxury companies) must invest heavily in retail and real estate and take into account increasingly complicated pricing in various countries, the management of customer relations, digital, and stock management. The accessible luxury companies must increase in size, develop foreign markets and retail, and tackle the increasingly complex and multifaceted management of collections, product categories and articles.The retail chains will have to cope with developing in foreign markets without being able to take advantage of Made in Italy, increasing company size, and the presence of global and local competitors in already consolidated individual countries.The companies that do not belong to these categories must decide on the business model to adopt and the relevant strategies.In conclusion, it can be said that the first categories of companies in the fashion and luxury sector will again find great opportunities for development in the mid-long term. The horizon could be less distinct for the “others” that do not possess the positive characteristics of the first three types of companies.Ca

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Blackfin awarded at the Hong Kong fair

The luxury prêt à porter maison Genny has entered into a multi-year partnership agreement with Jet Set Group for the design, production and distribution of sunglasses and optical frames collections to support the strong brand presence in the accessories segment and to complete its made in Italy proposal. "We decided to focus on eyewear with a high quality project that reflects the brand universe and transforms it into high quality products with a pronounced design content"

stated Sara Cavazza Facchini, the Artistic Director of the maison. The collection was previewed on the catwalk during the last Milan fashion week. Genny’s distinctive patterns and colours, the chromatic combinations, materials, modern and sophisticated shapes, the appeal of the '80s, and the subtle references to Art Déco geometrics characterise the collection, which is completely produced in Italy. The 2016 spring/summer collection will be launched at the next Mido.

At the recent trade fair that took place in Hong Kong, Blackfin was the recipient of the V.Award Silver in the sunglass category for the BF732 Eagle model. The award was bestowed by V.Magazine and reserved for exhibiting companies in the VOS (Visionaries of Style) area. Small and light, made entirely from beta-titanium, the award-winning glasses embody innovation and design with the blue-mirrored lenses combined with the fine black opaque frame. They feature the Shark-Lock patented system that allows the closure and adjustment of the lens within its rim without screws. The CEO of Pramaor, Nicola Del Din, stated, "2015 was a very satisfying year. After the award for the best stand at Mido and the Silmo d'Or for our Shark-Lock patent in Paris, we have now received this further design recognition."

Macy’s, Inc. and Luxottica Group have announced an agreement to bring the LensCrafters optical retail experience to as many as 500 Macy’s department stores in the U.S. over the next three years.The licensed department agreement builds on a successful relationship between the two companies that has resulted in the opening of approximately 670 of Luxottica’s Sunglass Hut locations within Macy’s stores to date. Together, Macy’s and Sunglass Hut have more than tripled the size of the sunglass business at Macy’s in the past six years. LensCrafters will now be the exclusive optical retailer of Macy’s and the first optical retail brand to expand nationally in a major department store. Macy’s will be the exclusive department store host of LensCrafters shops. LensCrafters will open its first new Macy’s location in April of 2016, with the goal of opening approximately 100 locations by the end of next year. The stores will feature a new design concept created specifically for Macy’s customers, offering top fashion and luxury eyewear.

Luxottica brings LensCrafters to Macy's

Genny's back in eyewear with Jet Set Group

| Issue #39 | November 25th 2015

30 years of Essilor in Mexico

On 1 October Essilor celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its Sofi plant at Chihuahua, Mexico, one of the first the group opened abroad in the Eighties.The anniversary provided an opportunity to thank its most senior collaborators, some of whom have worked at the plant for over twenty years on developing team skills and know-how.The numerous guests at the Essilor event included directors from some of the Group’s other facilities and also exponents of the local political world who also visited the plant. The Sofi headquarters consist of a manufacturing centre and two prescription glasses laboratories that were opened in 2008 and 2011.

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Turn over

Acuitis, the French company with stores in Luxembourg and Switzerland, as well as in its country of origin, has been in Italy since the beginning of the year through an exclusive partnership with the Netcity group. The agreement includes the possibility for Netcity subsidiaries to host in their stores corners with eyewear by French designer Frédéric Beausoleil and offer the public complete eyewear at “transparent prices” with Essilor and Galileo lenses. Initially composed of 12 models in 4 colours, the collection has grown and now proposes 96 models.Given the success of the operation, Netcity has decided to widen the agreement by offering exclusively to its subsidiaries the chance to open an “Acuitis” store under franchise.

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Japanese actress Lika Minamoto is the new face of the press campaign for the Line Art collection by Charmant. The actress – who has appeared in numerous music videos by various singers like Pet Shop Boys, David Halliday, Alain Chamfort and Jean-Louis Aubert – was photographed by Laurence Laborie. Recognized as being one of the most influential photographers of her generation, Laborie recently received an award for her work in the world of fashion and beauty.Line Art is made from Excellence Titan, the group’s exclusive patent that took eight years of research to be developed together with the main specialist centres of Japan’s universities.

Lika Minamoto interprets Line Art

EnChroma, the company bringing glasses that enable red-green to color blind, has announced a partnership with Frameri to provide EnChroma customers with new style and functionality in eyeglass frames. EnChroma lenses are now available in high quality, handmade, stylish made in Italy Frameri frames that allow wearers to easily swap lenses in and out of frames.For example, a color blind person could insert the EnChroma Cx-65 indoor lens into a Frameri frame to do color sensitive design tasks at their workstation, and then swap back in an EnChroma Cx-14 outdoor lens when they go outside. In the color blind, EnChroma’s glasses re-establish the correct balance between signals from three photo-pigments in the eye. Once the correct ratios entering the eye are re-established, the correct color can be perceived.

New solutions for Color Blind

| Issue #39 | November 25th 2015

Acuitis strengthens presence in Italy

Gwenn Decca Pr & Communications Manager PucciJeff Fitzhugh CEO Raen OpticsPedro Lourenço Creative Director La PerlaDavide Marello Creative Director BoglioliMarco Pozzo CEO Alessi

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Design, fashion & lifestyle

From New York City to Paris, from Tokyo to Milan, the road is becoming the queen of trends and traveling on three wheels. For some time now there has been a crisis-busting solution that began with the world of food and is now taking over the fashion world: traveling stores in old Apecars.For example, traveling in the three-wheeled vehicles are the Douglas cosmetics stores - blue vehicles (with red lipstick on the hood) created for the Douglas Street Makeup operation that offers a free makeup session on-the-road - Zip and Zip bags and Ottica Martignon eyewear of Padua. A fleet of Apecars is about to conquer the Far East: two Fendi branded vehicles signed VS are on their way to Japan.

Fashion is mobile

Paola Lenti, a company established in the Brianza area, has been awarded the German Design Award 2016 in the Excellent Product Design category for the Rams bed (designed by V. Carrasco) and the Move sofa (designed by F. Rota) and has received a special mention for the Kanji table

(designed by F. Rota). The German Design Award is one of the most prestigious European recognitions and awards the best leading designers and companies that express originality, creative maturity, and the combination of quality and respect for practicality and ergonomics in their products. Paola Lenti products were awarded by a panel of experts for their essential and linear design and their flexibility of use.

Editorial Director: Francesco Gili MIDO Srl Unipersonale · Via Petitti, 16 - 20149 Milano (Italy) · Phone +39 02 32673673 · P. Iva IT 07164050150

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email: redazione@wmido.com

The style of Giorgio Armani is the star of the new comedy by David Mamet, called China Doll to grace the stage of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater between 4 December and 31 January 2016. Featuring the legendary actor Al Pacino, the comedy tells the story of a powerful man about to abandon all to start a new life with his beautiful and young girlfriend. Al Pacino, now on his twelfth Broadway appearance, has worked with Giorgio Armani many times before. Indeed, he wore a tuxedo created by the designer when he was presented his Academy Award for best actor in 1993. To create the looks of the two leads in China Doll (Christopher Denham and Al Pacino), Armani collaborated with the costume designer Jess Goldstein, winner of the Tony Award and creator of the costumes for The Rivals and Jersey Boys. The performance is directed by Pam MacKinnon and produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Steve Traxler.

Giorgio Armani on Broadway with Al Pacino

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Making its debut at the Tamagawa Takashimaya Shopping Center in Tokyo is Oscalito’s first flagship store in the Far East. Manufactured in Turin by Maglificio Po, the knitwear and

lingerie brand was created in 1936.“The opening in Tokyo”, explained Dario Casalini, CEO of Maglificio Po, “is an important step in the expansion of commercial relations with the Far East. In the coming months, other stores will be opened in Japan and also in other Asian markets, primarily in South Korea, which is already following us with interest”.All Oscalito yarns are 100% natural and production is environment friendly thanks to refined, high performance, slow production technology.

Oscalito’s first flagship store opens in Tokyo

| Issue #39 | November 25th 2015

Paola Lenti wins the German Design Award 2016