Vision Expo West 2025 Anchors on Innovation

Vision Expo West, co-owned by RX and The Vision Council, returned to Las Vegas last month, bringing together nearly 10,000 optical professionals from across the U.S. and 80 countries.

The September show marked the final Vision Expo West, as it unifies from two shows into one beginning March 2026. The show at The Venetian Expo showcased the latest technology, innovation, education and trends shaping the optical sector. 

According to The Vision Council, this show saw a strong retention of past attendees as well as 34 percent new attendees. Participation in the Platinum Club, the hosted buyer program for million-dollar practices, increased by 27 percent, with over 600 participants.

Across the show, floor buyers reported a mix of trends — thick acetate is still a standard, punctuated with moments of color with greens, reds and blues as strongest, but silver metal frames and rimless options have emerged as a counterpoint to acetate.

“I noticed a stronger emphasis on metal this year, particularly on the luxury end where brands are incorporating handcrafted details that feel both artisanal and modern,” explained Dr. Danille Richardson. “The new Cutler & Gross collection, handcrafted in Italy, really stood out with its beautiful use of metalwork. Chunky acetate is still very much on trend, but the silhouettes are being refined, lighter, more wearable, and designed with comfort in mind.”

Dr. Richardson reported new creativity in sunglass lens colors adding “an unexpected, expressive element to classic frames.”

The show’s focus on innovation and technology proved to be a driving force for attendees. “Innovation is central to my buying decisions. I was especially inspired by how digital measuring tools are now incorporating AI to improve accuracy and create a more seamless process,” Dr. Richardson said. “Patients are seeking innovation not only in style but also in technology, and I see it as my role to stay ahead so I can bring them the very best of what’s available.”

One micro trend was the addition of jewels and sparkle, seen on Swarovski and Kendra Scott eyewear. “I see a strong buying trend for frames with a touch of jewels and crystals on the temples,” explained Dr. Scott Keating, who has attended both the West and East shows for over 20 years. “A delicate balance of just the right amount of jewels goes well for women 30-75 years of age,” he said, naming Stuart Weitzman eyewear as an example.  “Frames with the right amount of pop of color sell well. They are just bold enough to get compliments but nothing too wild,” he said of color trends.

“We are starting to see an uptick in smart eyewear,” he said, a category he is buying more of, but cautioned, “I feel that with smart eyewear, styling needs to be improved upon to sell more. Most of the frames are still too bulky on the temples.”

Smart eyewear was the talk at September’s Meta Connect event where EssilorLuxottica’s new Oakley Meta Vanguard for athletes was unveiled. The Italian manufacturer anchored their West booth with the new debut.  “We are super excited, because these are incredible news for all the industry” said Ernesto Diaz, EssilorLuxottica’s chief marketing officer and SVP professional solutions.

The new frame builds on the success of the Oakley Meta HSTN and is available in four color options. Oakley Meta Vanguard combines Oakley’s Prizm lenses with a 12MP ultra-wide camera (122° field of view), high decibel open-ear speakers, and advanced wind noise reduction.

Ray-Ban Meta served as the second brand anchor this year, also with new technology; the next generation style comes with an extended battery life of up to eight hours, an ultra-wide 12MP camera that captures high quality 3K ultra-HD videos with precision and clarity. It comes with an expanded palette of styles and colors, all of which can be outfitted with individual prescription lenses, including Transitions Gen S lenses. “You’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck,” Diaz said of the new styles. “You’ll be able to wear them all day long.”

The battery upgrade, Diaz explained, came from feedback from consumers, opticians and retail partners. ”We are really listening and trying to figure out how do we make sure that that next generation is sitting on all the marks that consumers are looking for.” AI capabilities with the frames are continuing to evolve, “we’re excited to be partners with Meta, and at the forefront of the industry,” he remarked.

Other booth highlights underscore how the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer is continuing to evolve with technology. Approved by the FDA in January, the Nuance Audio frames introduced  a new deep blue color across all sizes and shapes: The frame technology is “selling very well” the executive said.

The big news at Marcolin came a few weeks before the Las Vegas show with VSP Vision, parent company of Marchon,  entering into an agreement to acquire Marcolin from PAI Partners and other minority shareholders.

Highlights at the Marcolin booth included new Tom Ford eyewear designed by Haider Ackermann, Zegna’s newest collection featuring acetates in an earthy palette and crafted metal finishes and the debut of Abercrombie & Fitch Eyewear and Hollister Eyewear featuring sun and optical styles for both adults and kids.

“It’s a meaningful addition to VSP eyewear,” explained Marchon global president and chief executive officer Thomas Burkhardt of the pending acquisition. “In terms of brand portfolio and geographical footprint, it’s very complementary to where Marchon is sitting. It will provide our members and customers access to a much broader, meaningful portfolio around the world,” Burkhardt said, reporting that when the acquisition was made public the industry’s reaction was positive and encouraging.

Marchon’s latest debut, Kendra Scott eyewear, has had a confident first showing, proving to Burkhardt to be an important entry into the market. “I think the first day they sold 300 sunglasses on their website,“ he said, with hundreds of independent retailers buying into the debut “without having actually seen the samples. Which is so interesting because when you roll out a new brand, usually it’s very subtle. But with Kendra, everyone is all in.”

Outside of the show Marchon hosted events for Canada Goose, a brand it debuted last year, and Ferragamo, a brand the executive has seen growth since Maximillian Davis came on as creative director in 2022.

Another brand from the runway that has seen an uptick in eyewear is Calvin Klein. “She embraced the category,” the Marchon executive said of the brand’s new creative director Veronia Leoni who showed both sun and optical frames with her spring 2026 collection. Marchon has licensed the brand since 1992. “There is stability in the brand now,” which he said is fueling growth.

Safilo entered into a partnership with Amazon to create smart eyewear for the Carrera brand in 2023 but their Las Vegas booth focused on the basics: selling frames.

“We believe that this kind of show has to do with the opticians, with the practices, with the customers,” said Gabriele Cusani Sodano, president Safilo North America. “So that’s what we do. We have a very simple booth, I want customers to sit down and write orders,” he said, calling it “old school.”

“What we do good is we present our brands. The product speaks by itself,” he said. Saflio’s booth highlighted the first eyewear collection of Victoria Beckham with Safilo — previously held by Marchon — and first optical collections from both Etro and Kurt Geiger, launching in market in January 2026.

Cusani Sodano said with Kurt Geiger eyewear “we’re getting a lot of good feedback for a young customer. It repositions the portfolio, especially because a lot of the brands want to hit the Gen Z. This brand was born there.”

In the U.S market, he said, their strongest brand in the portfolio has been Kate Spade New York. “We are outpacing the growth that they are doing as a fashion house.”

“We don’t have to please everybody,” Cusani Sodano said of the Saflio portfolio. “We’re not Ray-Ban. We don’t have that scale. We don’t have that ambition, we want to be humble.”