The Italy-based company will start to produce and globally distribute Givenchy eyewear collections beginning Jan. 1.
Givenchy in ParisCOURTESY IMAGE
MILAN — There’s another jewel in the crown at eyewear manufacturer Thélios.
The Italy-based company will start to produce and globally distribute Givenchy eyewear collections beginning Jan. 1.
Renaud de Lesquen, who has been president and chief executive officer of Givenchy since April 2020, praised Thélios for “setting new standards in the eyewear industry with Italian craftsmanship and selective distribution.”
The agreement will help develop “exciting and exceptional eyewear that will take Givenchy to a new level in this product category,” he said.
Sara Osculati, chief brand and product officer of Thélios, said the first collection will build on Givenchy’s “iconic signature codes such as the 4G emblem.”
The new eyewear line was designed by creative director Matthew Williams “to perfectly blend into the maison’s global product offer and to grant a perfect Givenchy total look,” said Osculati, who described the brand as “the quintessence of contemporary Parisian elegance.”
Williams, who made a name for himself working as creative director for Lady Gaga and is the designer behind his 1017 Alyx 9SM label, joined Givenchy in June 2020, succeeding Clare Waight Keller. The Chicago-born designer, the French house’s seventh couturier and a key ringleader of the luxury streetwear scene, has brought a sharp vision to Givenchy and has been revisiting and emphasizing the brand’s 4G emblem in his designs.
As reported, Williams discovered the 4G emblem, present in collections since the time of founder Hubert de Givenchy, during a trawl through the archives, spotting it as a repeating pattern on a carpet in a boutique. For example, Williams unveiled a new chain-handled 4G bag which debuted in December as part of the pre-fall 2021 collection.
Leveraging Givenchy’s strong brand identity and Thélios’ know-how in luxury eyewear, the French company plans to further expand its eyewear category with this partnership.
Givenchy eyewear was previously produced and distributed by Safilo.
The first collection will be distributed in Givenchy boutiques, on givenchy.com, and across the highly selective Thélios network of retailers and opticians worldwide.
The Thélios headquarters in Longarone, Italy.POL BARIL
Thélios began operating in 2018, a joint venture between LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which has a 51 percent stake, with Italian eyewear-maker Marcolin owning the remainder. LVMH also owns a 10 percent stake in Marcolin.
Since its inception Thélios has grown to produce and distribute eyewear collections for Celine; Loewe; Kenzo; Fred; Berluti; Stella McCartney, and Rimowa.
The year 2021 has seen the arrival of Dior last January, and Fendi in July, bowing for fall 2021. The general consensus is that Thélios will gradually produce eyewear collections for most if not all the brands under the LVMH umbrella. Thélios also partly produces for Louis Vuitton, whose eyewear is sold only through its own boutiques.
Thélios employs 800 people, with 600 of them in Italy and production spans more than 194,400 square feet.
The state-of-the-art plant in Longarone, a one-hour drive from Venice and Italy’s main eyewear hub, was inaugurated in 2018.
Its former CEO Giovanni Zoppas exited in May to join Tecnica Group, which specializes in outdoor footwear and ski equipment, and a successor has not been named yet.