The London show made an impression across all categories in 2023 / new dates have been announced for the 2024 edition
100% Optical has celebrated their biggest, most successful show yet in London. Organisers reported that the 3-day event saw a 10% year-on-year increase on its previous record attendance.
For 2023, 100% attracted a diverse selection of independent eyewear brands from Europe and the US. They included long-term supporters of the fair such as Kirk and Kirk, Sea2see, SALT. Optics, BIRD and Gotti Switzerland, alongside first time appearances from VAVA, Rolf Spectacles and Vysen. Above: close-up of Linwei Zheng’s eyewear and accessory designs, winner of the 100% x RCA competition; Zheng used upcycled rubber tubes from the inside of car tyres to make the designs
The Love Eyewear Awards The fair celebrated creativity, colour and design flair with the Love Eyewear Awards. There were wins for a broad selection of products this year. Highlights included Ffin Eyewear (who won two awards for New Designer and Men’s Sunglasses of the Year), and ROLF Spectacles who won the category for Kids frame of the Year with their 3d printed bean glasses. Struktur Eyewear won the Men’s Frame of the Year and model PARIS Light and VAVA for Sustainable Frame of the year with their CL0012.
The continuing success of the brilliant RCA competition, in its 9th year, was a delight again at the 100% event, with very strong projects submitted by a group of outstanding students from the department of FAME_RCA (Masters in Fashion / Footwear / Accessories / Millinery / Eyewear. The theme of the competition this year was “sunglasses that do not cost the earth” and the winner was Linwei Zheng who designed frames using rubber inner tubes from tyres – a sustainable direction that was simple and bold.
Next year’s 10th anniversary 100% Optical dates have been confirmed for 24th to 26th February 2024, while The Association of Optometrists (AOP) and Media 10 have announced that their partnership to deliver 100% Optical has been extended until 2025. For further information, visit www.100percentoptical.com