Once again, Vision Expo West took over the City of Lights, featuring more than 320 hours of education and an exhibit hall spanning 180,000 square feet. Held September 14-17 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, the all-inclusive event featured something for everyone in the ophthalmic community.
Photo on right: Frames from Lafont's fall/winter collection.
In addition to the education and exhibit hall Vision Expo West has come to be known for, this year's conference also featured some new additions including the Global Contact Lens Forum and Ocular Surface Disease and Wellness Symposium that both reportedly sold out in less than three weeks, as well as 13 pop-up talks held throughout the show floor that reportedly received high levels of attendance and positive reviews from attendees.
More than 100 new fashion brands debuted fall lines in the exhibit hall, plus there were tons of new technologies and products to be seen in the medical, lenses and processing technology areas.
Here’s a look at just a few of the many trends and product launches seen at VEW 2016.
Fabulous Frames
The new My Little Pony collection from Nouveau Eyewear.
As always, the latest and greatest in eyewear was on display at VEW, with many manufacturers spotlighting their fall/winter collections and even providing teases for what spring would have in store.
Nouveau Eyewear debuted the My Little Pony collection at VEW, marking the largest girls line ever for the eyewear company. The collection features eight styles available in a variety of colors, with more styles expected to be launched next spring. Featuring a mix of acetates and metals with lots of attention to detail, the frames have been designed not just for little girls, but also for their mothers who grew up with My Little Pony.
ClearVision Optical also launched a new collection at VEW for Steve Madden, featuring 51 styles of womens, mens, kids and sunwear. Designed by millennials for millennials and GenXers, the collection features a mix of acetate and stainless steel with some patterns popular in Steve Madden's footwear line mirrored throughout the collection. ClearVision also showcased its new Aspire custom eyewear line that allows patients to fully customize their rimless frames by choosing from 12 different lens shapes, three temple fits, four bridge fits, and 18 different colors.
French eyewear manufacturer Lafont showcased its fall/winter collection, featuring on-trend elements such as pops of color, unexpected color combinations, textural elements and 3D effects. Graphic prints were also showcased, from art deco inspired to subtle, providing something for everyone.
The fall releases from WestGroupe were inspired by fall/winter 2016 runway trends. One key trend was a focus on metallics, both in terms of frames and finishes, with a prime example frames with metallic threads woven into the acetate from Fysh. And KLiiK showcased a focus on color and textures, including metal frames with epoxy overlays giving them the look and shine of acetate.
STATE Optical Co. debuted six new styles at VEW 2016, all made from Mazzucchelli acetate. Following the latest fashion trends, the line features frames for men and women as well as unisex styles with frames all named after streets in Chicago. New style standouts include the Ravenswood with a marble-effect acetate and the Maxwell available in different colored tortoises.
It was all about bold shaping and color with the fall styles from l.a. Eyeworks, with 11 new styles for its main collection and two for Fiction by l.a. Eyeworks. Standouts included the Sir Lady acetate frame, featuring a shape-within-a-shape design that really amplifies the angle of the eyes, and the Olly — a super lightweight frame made of surgical stainless steel with a separately milled colored insert around the lens.
Studio Optyx featured the latest offerings from Monoqool — a line of 3D printed frames made from nylon granules that are printed layer by layer. Only weighing six to 10 grams, the frames have surgical stainless steel temples and are available in an almost endless color array. Also on hand were new fall frames for NW 77th with a focus on shapes, and the race car inspired Derapage line.
Frames from Robert Marc's fall/winter 2016 collection.
The fall/winter 2016 collection from Robert Marc is all inspired by New York City and coincides with the brand's 35th anniversary. The women's collection embodies bold lines and a new "spectator hinge," with city-inspired colors such as NYC Black, Lexington Green, and Empire Blue. And the men's styles feature 1981-inspired color combinations, such as 1981 Tortoise Blue, 1981 Tortoise Olive, and Vintage Crystal.
Marcolin showcased a wide variety of new styles for the upcoming months. Highlights include intricate and ornate metal detailing and serpent-inspired designs from Roberto Cavalli, full acetates with metal detailing from Montblanc, leather treatments and dramatic cat eyes from Tom Ford, and modern and architectural shapes from Balenciaga.
The latest styles from Europa Eyewear were featured at VEW, such as layered color acetates with a focus on the brow from Scott Harris, textural plays on titanium and memory metals for Michael Ryen, unique wood and silk overlays on metal for the Cinzia line, and mirrored adult trends in kid-friendly colors and materials for its db4K children’s collection.
VEW was the launching pad for new styles from premium reader eyewear company eyeOs, with an emphasis on retro styles and bright colors that change as the wearer's head turns. The frames are made from Mazzucchelli acetate with premium lenses, riveted style hinges, 45° angle mitered temples, and all colors are harvested from fruits and vegetables.
Mosaic Eyewear introduced the latest collection by Liebeskind - Berlin, featuring eight new frame models in various colors including solids and tortoises, as well as dual color acetate frames where the colors are divided vertically rather than horizontally. And Mosaic also showcased its new s.Oliver Black label optical collection featuring acetates with a matte finish and subtle colors for a more professional feel.
And David Green Eyewear brought its unique, nature-inspired eyewear to VEW. The South African company launched its fall collection at the show, featuring frames with real mother of pearl fronts or temples made of hand-scalloped cotton-based acetate. Other standouts include a frame made from African black wood and others decorated with real leaves and river reeds.
Innovative Technologies
The new HPE-8000X, the Exxpert Edger, from Coburn Technologies.
There were also quite a number of new products and services launched at VEW 2016.
For starters, Asahi Vision Inc. made their U.S. debut at VEW, formally launching their first products to the American market. The aLC-100 Lens Checker is a first-of-its-kind imaging device designed to assist ECPs in discovering impurities, scratches, and other defects on either spectacle or contact lenses. And the aLM-100 Basic Auto Lensmeter is a user-friendly device that provides simple and reliable results, designed for spectacle lenses, bi-focals, progressive lenses, and contact lenses.
Another first-time exhibitor was TrueBlue Vision, featuring both indoor and outdoor lens options for blue light protection. TrueBlue's lenses use a patented filtration system that uses synthetic melanin and ocular lens pigment (OLP™) to effectively filter out the blue spectrum of natural (outdoor) and artificial (indoor) light.
Coburn Technologies launched its new HPE-8000X — the Exxpert Edger — at VEW as their latest finishing product for both retail and wholesale lens labs. Key features of the new HPE-8000X include step bevel cutting, 11 different lens edge finishes, reduced lens slippage thanks to an adaptive swivel chuck, and the ability to import and store DCS (OMA) directly.
M&S Technologies highlighted its new partnership with Topcon Medical Systems, where M&S is providing its Smart System® software for Topcon's CV-5000S Automated Vision Tester. This gives doctors access to most features of the Smart System software in a much simpler and cleaner way, helping to improve office workflow and giving ECPs the ability to digitally document eye exams by 100 percent.
Comfort Vision was on-hand to promote its ProOcular™ daily disposable soft contact lenses, which the company is currently bringing to the North American market. Available in 30- and 90-day supplies, the lenses feature a contoured edge, unique wetting agents and UV blocking. Plus, Comfort Vision was promoting its new Eye Supplement with Propolis — a compound produced by bees — that will be launched to market in November.
Smart Vision Labs shows how its smartphone-based wavefront autorefractor works.
Optovue introduced two new products at VEW. The first is its new Vault Mapping for all iSeries OCT systems, which can be used to assist in scleral lens fitting by allowing visualization and mapping of the central corneal clearance (CCC). And Optovue also introduced its proprietary AngioVue™ Imaging System to the optometry market, which offers OCT imaging with OCTA to provide ODs with a more complete picture of their patients' retinal health.
At the booth of Canon USA, the company showcased its teleretinal solution featuring the CR-2 PLUS AF Digital Non-Mydriatic Retinal camera and imageSPECTRUM Image Management System software. Usable on both Windows® 7 and 10 operating systems, the image management software features an opacity suppression filter that helps ECPs uncover what's behind cataracts when taking retinal images.
And Smart Vision Labs highlighted its smartphone-based wavefront autorefractor designed for use in optical shops with or without an optometrist on staff, as well as for remote vision screenings. The device self-guides patients through visual acuity, autorefraction and pupillary distance measurements. The data is then transmitted to a cloud-based platform that is reviewed and verified by an optometrist or ophthalmologist either on premise or from an outside team.
Vision Expo West 2017 will take place September 13-16, 2017 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas. For more information, visit west.visionexpo.com.