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INVISON made its first trip to MIDO this year and boy was it a blast! The international eyewear trade show hosted more than 1,200 exhibitors and more than 40,000 attendees from 160 countries — from Asia to the U.S. and all of Europe — over three days. It was hard to narrow down all the great pictures we took but here we try to give a robust (and enviable!) snapshot into one of Europe’s premier eyewear events.

MIDO 2025 is February 8-10, 2025 at Fieramilano Rho.

INVISION’s Editor-in-Chief, Dee Carroll, hit the ground running.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: GLENN HARMAN (unless noted)

Think we’re in the right place…

The excitement was palpable and the crowds thick.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: MIDO

MIDO President Giovanni Vitaloni (center) and ANFAO President Lorraine Berton (right) gave international press and buyers a warm welcome on day one.

The grounds were so large it would have been easy to get lost if not for the abundant way signage.

The booths were grander and more spacious than we’re used to seeing here in the U.S. Marchon’s booth.

Dare we say even more beautiful too? Charmant’s booth.

MODO’s booth.

EssliorLuxottica’s booth.

WestGroupe started writing orders before the halls even filled up!

Marcolin’s booth.

What time difference? Even our friends from l.a. Eyeworks showed up in a big way!

J.F. Rey was a showstopper.

Safilo was full of energy!

The 3D printed eyewear from Tech Print Industries (TPI) drew a crowd.

The artful use of AI imagery was evident – here from the brand ARU in the Lab Academy section for brand startups.

SILMO showed up to stoke excitement for their own event in the fall.

Even Barbie made an appearance!

With all that stimulation, regular breaks are encouraged. Refreshment areas were thick on the ground and just as inviting as the booths themselves.

Need to take a load off? No problem. Comfortable seating areas dotted the halls.

The booths weren’t the only attention grabbers – eye-themed art installations abound.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: MIDO

They were conveniently installed where attendees rested so they could be fully appreciated.

This wouldn’t fit in our luggage… sigh.

Of course, there were lots of big names in attendance too. Fashion designer Philipp Plein was personally on hand at the De Rigo booth to introduce his new Plein Active line.

Dee chatted with Harvey Ross, CEO of Optyx Retail Group and founder of HMR Holdings, after the announcement of the Sergio Cereda Eyewear Design Award, which aims to identify and inspire new talents in eyewear design worldwide. A tribute to Sergio Cereda, an influential figure and a game changer in eyewear design, the first $5,000 award will be awarded during MIDO 2025.

Alyssa Carson, an astronaut training for the first mission to Mars and who answered questions all about it, with Reinhard Mahr, CEO of Silhouette, at the brand’s booth.

Of course, it’s not an industry event if you can’t visit with friends. Here (l-r) Dr. Kristie Nguyen, Sheena Taff, Dr. Jennifer Chinn and Dr. Adam Ramsey raise a glass with Dee (c) at the Italian Trade Agency’s (ITA) cocktail party following a special preview of the Made in Italy eyewear brands.

Julia Gogosha got to celebrate her birthday at MIDO’s Made in Italy preview hosted by ITA/ANFAO. Buon compleanno, Julia!

There were also parties. Sheena, Dee and host Tarrence Lackran at the EYƎCONS X Sestini Eyewear party in the beautiful and historic Principe di Savoia hotel.

The ladies also hit the Blackfin + Barberini Party at the Terrazza Martini and visited with Blackfin CEO Nicola Del Din.

Carrera threw a party — DJs, models, cocktails and all — in the Safilo booth.

De Rigo’s Porshe Design party was a certified vibe!

Awards were also a big part of the show .

 

Winners of the CSE: Certified Sustainable Eyewear Awards were AQUA by Exploris Asia Limited (China) for Cases Rest of the World; BABE 24 by Llexan Italia (Italy) for Cases Europe; NATURA by Neway Macao (Macao) for Frames Rest of the World; TOMMY HILFIGER by Safilo (Italy) for Frames Europe; LONGCHAMP by Marchon (USA) Sunglasses Rest of the World; and ROLF (Austria) for Sunglasses Europe.

 

In the MIDO Awards, the BeStore Award for Design went to Anaïs Murith’s LENETA – Concept Store Optique in Switzerland. The Innovation award went to Vitor Martins’ Ótica Maxivisão in Portugal; and the winner of the Stand Up For Green award for the most sustainable booth at the show this year was CSO Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici, an Italian company whose booth was designed based on the use of circular materials.

INVISION and MIDO a Match Made in Milan

INVISION and MIDO a Match Made in Milan

INVISON made its first trip to MIDO this year and boy was it a blast! The international eyewear trade show hosted more than 1,200 exhibitors and more than 40,000 attendees from 160 countries — from Asia to the U.S. and all of Europe — over three days. It was hard to narrow down all the great pictures we took but here we try to give a robust (and enviable!) snapshot into one of Europe’s premier eyewear events.

MIDO 2025 is February 8-10, 2025 at Fieramilano Rho.

INVISION’s Editor-in-Chief, Dee Carroll, hit the ground running.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: GLENN HARMAN (unless noted)