With approx. 1,500 industry professionals and buyers attending the Firenze show, 100 companies and 170 Italian and international brands, DaTE has indeed proven itself an essential event for the entire eyewear industry, which in Italy generates more than 4 billion euro in turnover and employs a workforce of 18,000.

“Before the show opened, we had hoped to match last year’s good performance, and we did,” said DaTE President Giovanni Vitaloni. “We are pleased with the outcome and with the quality of the professionals ‒ both exhibitors and visitors ‒ who participated. Attendance by international buyers was also good, aided, in part, thanks to our partnership with ITA (Italian Trade Agency). Again this year, DaTE delivered the best our independent eyewear market has to offer, staying true to its mission as an exhibition of the avantgarde.”

The interest in the event was also confirmed through the social channels: more than 750,000 total users who followed DaTE, for a total of 2 million views and over 60,000 interactions with posts published on Facebook and Instagram.

This year, DaTE continues October 17th in Milan, with a special non-commercial event open to everyone. Known as MEDD by DaTE – Milano Eyewear Design Day, it caters not only to industry professionals and the press, but also to enthusiasts, designers and students ‒ a space for creative exchange and reflection on design, with an emphasis on eyewear. Experts have been invited to compare and contrast the various applications of design ‒ from fashion to architecture, by way of accessories and technology. Not by coincidence, event host is the ADI Design Museum of Milan, historic repository of all the objects that have received the Compasso D’Oro Award, conferred each year, in recognition of excellence in Italian design. “Interestingly, to date, eyewear has never received the Compasso D’Oro. Perhaps MEDD by DaTE could bode well that eyewear, too, might become part of the Museum’s collection,” mused Vitaloni.

The MEDD by DaTE calendar of events can be found at the website. It includes an exhibit ‒ mounted in partnership with the Eyewear Museum of Pieve di Cadore – part of a collection of iconic eyewear that have “designed” the industry’s history. And two awards: the MEDD by DaTE award for the most innovative eyewear, selected by a jury of design and lifestyle experts from among the styles exhibited in Florence; and an award for the most visionary optical shop, chosen by the exhibitors at DaTE.