Marchon Eyewear and the dynamic Italian fashion brand Liu Jo have announced an exclusive global licensing agreement that will grant Marchon the rights to manufacture and distribute sun and ophthalmic collections under the Liu Jo brand name. Devoted to elegant, feminine women, the collections will be available from January 2014 in Liu Jo boutiques and selected locations worldwide.
AREA98 EXPANDS TO U.S.
Italy-based Area98 has opened offices in Miami under the name Area98 USA LLC. All Area98 collections, Coco Song, Genesis Easy, K: Actor, Kaos, La Matta, Oliviero Contini and One 2 One, will be distributed through the company’s Florida office in cooperation with POETS Eyewear, Area98’s partner. Coco Song, Kaos and La Matta are available now. The other collections will be available in 2014. Pictured: Coco Song Baby Blues.
ESSILOR ACQUIRES POLARIZED SUN LEADER COSTA
Essilor International and Costa Inc. have signed an agreement for Essilor to acquire all outstanding shares of Costa Inc., a U.S. leader in high-performance sunglasses. Costa designs, assembles and markets sunglasses under the Costa and Native brands. Costa is best known for its patented 580 lens technology, which offers color enhancement and increased visual acuity.
GOOGLE TO SOURCE SHADES FROM MAUI JIM & ZEAL
Google is partnering with Maui Jim and Zeal Optics to include a sunglass shade with every new pair of Google Glass it sells. Diagrams posted online by Google show how to attach the shades, which appear to be a removable sun shield to the thin, metal Glass frame. Both the shades and a clear protective shield will be sold through Google’s online Glass store.
MONDOTTICA USA TEAMS WITH CB SPORTS
Mondottica USA and CB Sports have signed a worldwide licensing agreement granting Mondottica USA the rights to manufacture and distribute CB Sports eyewear, effective immediately. Founded in 1969 in Stratton, Vt., CB Sports is known for its outerwear, hats, gloves, scarves and socks. The eyewear collection takes inspiration from the woods of Vermont, featuring wool-like frame surfaces and an eclectic palette that fuses bright colors reminiscent of CB’s vintage jackets.
DAAS LUXURY OPTICS PARTNERS WITH TAVAT
Daas Luxury Eyewear, the distributor of Alexander Daas Eyewear, has announced that it’s now also the exclusive U.S. distributor for the Italian eyewear line TAVAT. TAVAT frames feature EX-CAM patented, trademarked hinges, which provide high-tech precision in the opening/closing action and state-of-the-art melanin lenses.
ELECTRIC INTROS ITALIAN-MADE SUNGLASSES
California-based Electric launches a sunglass collection featuring frames handmade from Mazzucchelli acetate and Carl Zeiss Vision lens technology. Pictured: Hardknox.
