We just got back from SILMO Paris and LOFT San Francisco and are still bursting with excitement over all the new release eyewear we have seen of late. SILMO completely living up to it’s reputation as the premier eyewear event of the fall/autumn season.

For the uninitiated, SILMO Paris is spread across four days and held at the Parc des Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte, a sprawling center of trade exhibit halls on the outskirts of the city and convenient to the Charles De Gaulle International Airport. It is very accessible via public transport (bus or train) with direct connections into central Paris and the airport. As usual we stayed in central Paris (why wouldn’t you?) and trekked out to the event each day using the Metro and RER which takes between 40-50 minutes in total each way. Returning back to Paris each day to take in every bit of the ambience and beauty of this wonderful city.

This time we traveled to the show each day with our good friends Maria and Alexandra. Maria owns the stunning Moda Optic eyewear boutique in Rockville, Maryland on the outskirts of Washington DC. It was very interesting to see the event from the perspective of new visitors to the show. Introducing them to HALL 7 where they would spend most of their time being a highlight. So too was the experience of visiting booths as they previewed new collections and bought new styles from designers they already work with.

Our overarching mission, of course, was to represent Luxury Eyewear Forum in a media partnership with SILMO for the second year running. It made sense that most of our time during the event was spent in the Hall 7 where all of our favorite luxury and designer brands mostly show. Again we were struck by the fabulous booth structures throughout the space. You typically see some returning ones but there were also many that were new and notable.

Part of the real experience of GENERATION SILMO is, without doubt, the people! We managed to catch up with most of my Aussies on the first day and soon found many other old friends hidden away in booths and made some new ones throughout the course of the weekend. These are the experiences what make big events like SILMO work on many different levels.

The organizers of SILMO 2024 can be very proud of their achievements this year. We enjoyed all the food options both indoors and outdoors (especially the PAUL truck), the seating areas seemed a little more prevalent, and the overall excitement was palpable as we ventured through the spaces.

I mentioned our mission earlier and in this capacity we spent most of our time visiting many new vendors and meeting with press sources with some of the larger independent eyewear companies. We got to speak with owners and designers to discover their new collections and their overall feelings in regard to the eyewear market and their opinions of the event itself. As we found last year, everyone we spoke with was very upbeat about business in general, especially buyer reactions to their new products and designs. A special shout out to Press Eyewear, Zirkel Optics and Vintage Frames Company who all debuted new collections to the SILMO event. It was great to see so many new brands and designers this year.

I was very honored to be named a judge for this year’s SILMO d’Or Awards. Adding to our overall schedule during the show, this part was one of the most enjoyable. We previewed all of the nominated designs and technologies and were able to touch and feel the quality of each sample first hand.

This, of course, preceded the annual SILMO d’Or Awards themselves which we attended on Saturday night. The awards this year were chaired by fashion designer, Alexis Mabille - a graduate of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne in 1997. In 2005, he created his eponymous brand with the aim of blending clothing tradition, a certain sex appeal and the energy of our time. Upending codes, twisting silhouettes, mixing periods. By sharing his design expertise and creative vision with the members of the jury of the 2024 SILMO d’Or awards, he provided valuable insight into this daily object that only needs to be enhanced by a shape, a material or an innovation.

This year the event was held at Le Carrousel Du Louvre, an underground shopping zone and event center right below and in front of the Louvre Museum that features the famous skylight, La Pyramide Inversée (Louvre Inverted Pyramid). The place was jam packed and we were treated to drinks and small bites with several entertainers moving through the crowd during the pre-event festivities. It really was a great atmosphere and also another great opportunity to catchup and meet colleagues in the industry while enjoying another uniquely Paris experience.

Again we were extremely surprised with the attendance numbers on Sunday at SILMO. It was non-stop all day long. We arrived early and couldn’t believe the sheer volume of attendees for that time of day. Most of the booths were already completely swamped with customers at such an early hour. Speaking with vendors during the day they agreed that it had been a very prosperous day all round.

As part of the Press Corp at the event we were invited to attend the Silmo d’Or Awards on Saturday night as I mentioned. The voting for the awards was held during the event in the Press Area and attached office spaces. This private space is where we could decompress from the show floor, grab some refreshments and also meet with other contacts in the industry. The facilities were once again fabulous with good internet access and seating as well as work cubes where you could sit and begin putting together your stories about the event. For us it was a great place for us to edit our videos and put together our updates each day to post to all our social channels “live” from SILMO.

SILMO Paris is the premier event on the eyewear calendar. If you haven’t yet experienced it like our friends Maria and Alexandra did for the first time, then you need to book for 2025! I’m sure they would agree that it was a great learning curve for future shows. Once you get the hang of the daily commute the rest is just managing your time for set appointments in your schedule whilst making time to peruse new collections and technologies. Most of all though, it’s Paris! It’s hard to go wrong. SILMO is also extremely well organized, easy to manage day to day, not difficult to get to in terms of transport, and best of all it’s really FUN!

I would also highly recommend making an extended trip for it so you can also experience this wonderful city and all it has to offer. We actually took a side trip for a day to Bruges in Belgium this time and it was the perfect post show escape. For years I have worked the show and not really stepped away afterwards to enjoy Paris properly. It’s a huge mistake that I’m often told other industry types make as well. So put down those bags and glasses and enjoy yourselves!

2025 can’t come soon enough!

* Louis Fullagar is an optician and editor/creator of Luxury Eyewear Forum and owner of Spexaddict a media/marketing agency in the optical industry.

Check out more from the event at silmoparis.com