ORLANDO, Fla. — Marking its 40th year, Vision Expo 2026 ushered in the debut of a single annual showing, bringing together the global optical community for four days of business, education and innovation, charting the next year and beyond.

“My biggest takeaway from Orlando is that this industry is extraordinarily resilient and deeply optimistic,” said Ashley Mills, chief executive officer of The Vision Council, which co-owns the show with RX.

The Orlando show, which took place March 11 to 14, hosted around 8,000 professionals from 92 countries — with education attendance up 17 percent year-over-year. The Platinum Club, which supports Vision Expo’s highest-volume practices, grew to more than 700 participants, Mills reported.

“Those aren’t just numbers. They tell you that people are investing in their businesses, investing in their education and investing in each other. We’re looking forward to building on this momentum for future Vision Expos and continuing to make it the year’s must-attend industry event,” the CEO said.

Fully housed within the Orange County Convention Center’s West Hall C-E, the show floor made for larger booths, with EssilorLuxottica debuting its largest Expo booth to date.

“We wanted to pack in everything,”
Valentina Cerchiari, senior marketing director at EssilorLuxottica, said of this year’s booth, with some “teasers” of what’s to come in 2026.

The robust booth included all the group’s latest wearables from Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley, a section devoted to their portfolio of brands and the latest innovations in medical technologies.

“Because there’s just one event, we wanted to go larger on our innovation timeframe, making sure we can share the ones that will be available soon,” she said, including the next generation of Nuance Audio and Crizal Natural Look, an innovation aiming to redefine reflection color control and Transitions Color Touch.

“I think we upped everything,” she remarked of the Orlando show, providing more time to connect for attendees.

A few weeks before the show Ray-Ban creative director A$AP Rocky’s fashion brand AWGE was on the runway of New York Fashion Week, where his eyewear was heavily featured.

Expo was a chance to get up close with the multihyphenate’s next chapter for Ray-Ban and his first optical range for the brand.

“He’s got such magical touch on what he does in terms of designing. He’s really invested,” said Maria Colon, vice president of Ray-Ban North America. Released in February the debut optical range leans in to ’90s nostalgia with slim wire and rimless frames. “We’re trying to invigorate a different younger demographic,” she said. “I think this is how we bring them into the fold,” she said, adding that the new styles are A$AP’s frame of choice.

Another brand in the portfolio, Oakley, just revealed Matthew Williams as creative director, and is having a “renaissance right now,” said Caio Amato, president, Oakley & Sports Performance Hub at EssilorLuxottica. “It’s beautiful to see this brand booming again and being hyped again. Going back to the place we belong. The fun part is that we did it by actually going back to the DNA, not reinventing the wheel,” he said.

Leaning in on optical, the brand debuted prescription technology on sunglass shield lens designs for the first time and brought Jordan Stolz, the American speed skater and most decorated U.S. athlete of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in for an appearance.

Just before Vision Expo kicked off, EssilorLuxottica debuted Switch, a vision innovation summit, hosting around 1,000 doctors, scientists, academics, entrepreneurs and cultural voices for a deep dive into the convergence of artificial intelligence, medical science and wearable technology and how it is reshaping the future of vision care.

Feedback about the event “has been extremely positive,” explained Pascale Desroches, vice president, marketing, at EssilorLuxottica professional solutions North America. “We believe we are in kind of a turning point. The speed of the transformation, it’s unprecedented,” he said of the summit style experience, which saw attendees move between keynote sessions, immersive product experiences, collaborative workshops and curated networking opportunities designed to elevate the conversation around health care innovation.

“What happened in the last year and what is going to happen in the next year, the speed is probably bigger than what happened in the last 25 years,” he said. “So the industry needed a moment, a preview of what is going to be the future, but at the same time giving them the message that the future is now.”

Switch will come to Europe April 13 to 15 in Monaco.

Nicola Zotta, who in January was named president of VSP Eyewear, and managing director of Marchon Eyewear and Marcolin, said there is “cautious optimism” among independent optical retailers. “While they’re navigating ongoing pressures around margin, inventory and consumer traffic, there’s a clear sense of resilience and adaptability.”

Many are becoming “more strategic” in how they curate assortments and differentiate their in-store experience with carefully selected frame and lens selections and a “smooth and, often digitally, supported customer experience, from appointment booking to after visit follow-ups.” Additionally, he reported that retailers who lean into storytelling, service and experiential retail will outperform, “particularly as they compete against online channels.”

Across the VSP Eyewear portfolio, Zotta said there was “strong engagement around collections that balance design, brand recognition and commercial viability.” Within Marchon’s brand stable, Kendra Scott, Nike and Calvin Klein “performed well” with customers at Expo.

Since being acquired at the end of 2025, Marcolin’s logo was featured in the booth but the collections were shown in a hotel suite off the show floor.

“The acquisition of Marcolin increases access to a more diverse product portfolio and creates greater value for VSP members, clients, doctors and key customers,” he said, adding that the acquisition is still in its early days. “For now, Marchon and Marcolin continue to operate as they do today.”

Rag & Bone’s launch collection with the Italian manufacturer “was extremely positive,” Zotta said, with customers appreciating “the uniqueness of the design, but equally important was the feedback on the quality relative to price, which we see as a strong validation of the value proposition.”

Ic! Berlin marks in 30th anniversary in 2026 and continues to build “meaningful momentum. What is working is our ability to respect and preserve the brand’s independent heritage and design language, while elevating it through a modern approach seamlessly blending it with the distribution and service capabilities that we provide,” Zotta said.

Tom Ford, now designed by Haider Ackermann, has been a standout. The response at the show was “overwhelmingly” positive, with excitement around the coloration, “which feels precisely on trend with market demand as we move into the spring summer season,” the executive said.

Zotta added that currently “accounts are looking for products that offer clear value: recognizable brands, strong margins and versatility across consumer segments. There’s also a growing interest in innovation, whether that’s lens technology, sustainability or customization — as long as it translates into a tangible benefit for the end consumer.”

One example was a Nike activation that allowed accounts to customize sunglasses with etched lenses and interact with an AI display featuring avatars wearing Nike Vision.

Zotta said the activation was powerful because it brings the product to life in a way that is both personal and memorable. “They shift the retail experience from transactional to experiential,” he said.

“It not only drives engagement but also increase conversion by giving customers confidence in their purchases,” he said. “Ultimately, these types of experiences create differentiation and give consumers a reason to choose in-store over online.”

Gabriele Cusani, president and chief commercial officer at Safilo North America, said the company’s objective at Vision Expo was to give visibility across the entire Safilo portfolio, while at the same time prioritizing the brands that are most relevant for the North American market, naming Carrera, Kate Spade, Tommy Hilfiger and Marc Jacobs. 

The Italian manufacturer spotlighted three brands it’s launching in 2026 within the optical channel: Kurt Geiger, Etro and Victoria Beckham. “These additions play a key strategic role within our portfolio — Kurt Geiger helps us address white spaces with a bold, fashion-forward offering, while Etro and Victoria Beckham further strengthen our presence in the high-end fashion segment.”

Cusani observed strong interest across the entire portfolio with “established brands such as Carrera, Kate Spade and David Beckham,” continuing to build on the positive momentum achieved over the past year.

“Retailers clearly recognize their strong brand equity, consistent product offering and ability to drive sell-through across different consumer segments,” he said. Among the newer additions to the portfolio, Kurt Geiger generated “very encouraging” feedback. “The brand is resonating well thanks to its distinctive, fashion-forward positioning and strong identity, which brings a fresh and differentiated proposition to the assortment.”

Safilo went all-in on the launch with a fashion show within its booth, featuring models wearing Kurt Geiger swimwear paired with the new sunglasses collection.

“The level of attendance and engagement we saw confirmed the strong interest around the brand and its potential with our retail partners.”

In terms of price, “there is definitely a growing interest toward affordable fashion and luxury products in both sun and optical frames,” he said.

Wearables are also evolving, with Safilo’s partnership with Amazon building on the Carrera with Alexa eyewear that was introduced at the end of 2023.

“Forty years is a long time to do anything, but what makes Vision Expo’s anniversary truly meaningful is that this community has grown more sophisticated, more global, and more innovative with every passing year,” The Vision Council’s Mills said of the banner year.

“From walking the floor in Orlando this past week, it was clear that this is an industry that genuinely loves what it does. You feel that energy the moment you walk through the doors, and it never lets up.”

Vision Expo will return March 10 to 13, 2027, at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.