With Vision Expo East right around the corner, the 20/20 team has been gearing up in preparation for the show. For us, Expo is always on the brain—as soon as one show ends, we start looking ahead to the next one. The main agenda with our March and March 15 What’s Brand New issues is to prep our readers by delivering what you need to know and see at the show—the latest style trends of the season, new product launches, lens and tech innovations, etc. It’s safe to say we are always ready for Expo—and we know you are too. But just HOW ready? Eyewear ambassador and Vision Expo director Tarrence Lackran wanted to see for himself.

A few months leading up to Expo, Tarrence came up with the idea of creating apparel designed with the hashtag #IMREADY Vision Expo. Inspired by an obsession with streetwear, Tarrence thought it would be fun to send some shirts to a few industry friends to help support him and drum up some excitement for Expo: “I love sweatshirts and T-shirts with cool writing and designs. I thought I’d create just a few to support me. When I posted the design on Facebook and asked if anyone was interested in pre-ordering, only three people responded.” What started as a casual obsession has since morphed into a trending social media campaign with optical friends near and far sharing creative and fun photographs of themselves geared up in their #IMREADY sweatshirts, tank tops and “beanie” ski hats. The campaign has completely exceeded Tarrence’s expectations. “I still can’t get over how well this has been received. Every day I get emails, texts and direct messages on Instagram and Facebook asking if I can send them a shirt!” Optical is buzzing with Vision Expo love, and people are more than enthusiastic to show just how ready they are.

The #IMREADY campaign is a testament to the power of social media, but it’s the passion of folks such as Tarrence that drives and fuels the soul of our industry. We’re loving all the #IMREADY photos being shared (even EIC James Spina and I have shared ours) so we’re featuring a few of our favorites here. See more fabulous pics on Instagram @tlofvisionexpo and @vision.expo.

 Christine Yeh
Executive Editor
[email protected]