The Accessories Council announced the winners of its first annual Design Excellence Awards on September 5 during a luncheon at the Plaza Hotel in New York City as a part of its 25th year anniversary. Created by the Accessories Council to recognize outstanding products across categories as determined by vote, the Design Excellence Awards signify industry-wide recognition ahead of the critical Fall/Holiday 2019 selling season.
This year, Safilo’s Jimmy Choo and Marchon’s Chloe both took home awards. In addition, Luxottica’s Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer Classic was honored as an accessories icon with the Hall of Fame award.
The eyewear nominations were separated into optical and sun categories. In the optical category, the Finalists were: ClearVision Optical, for their Amazing glasses from Aspire; Covry Eyewear, for the Chara Peony style; Flexon for their Black Collection; Safilo’s Jimmy Choo for style JC228; and Tura Inc.’s Mini 741001 BLS. The winner was Safilo’s Jimmy Choo.
The sunwear Finalists were: Marcolin’s Atelier Swarovski Eyewear for style SK0240-P; Marchon’s Chloe Curtis; Safilo’s Fendi for style FF 0399/S; Safilo’s Givenchy for the GV Shower; and Randolph Engineering’s 23K White Gold Aviator Sunglasses with AGX Polarized Skytectm Glass Lens. The winner was Marchon’s Chloe Curtis design.
The Hall of Fame award, previously announced but awarded on Thursday, recognized a product that has stood the test of time, is iconic, and is instantly recognizable. Fabrizio Uguzzoni, president, Luxottica Wholesale NA, accepted the award, which was determined by the Accessories Council Board and presented at the DEA luncheon by Marge Axelrad, SVP/editorial director of Vision Monday.
The finalists for the Design Excellence Awards were determined by the Accessories Council Board and the AC DEA committee. The winners were then chosen via a public vote, as VMAIL previously reported. Sponsors of the Design Excellence Awards are Accessories Circuit, Donatello Arm, Launchmetrics, Marchon Eyewear, NANO, QVC/HSN and Swarovski.
Winning products were voted on by the public from finalist pools selected by The Accessories Council board of directors and the accessories innovation committee. Finalists were chosen based on design, appearance and/or function, consumer needs addressed by product, aesthetics, innovative materials or technology, market positioning and competitive performance, social images, emotional appeal, and sustainability.
Design Excellence Award winners are available for purchase in the U.S. via retail stores, e-commerce, and TV retail or direct marketing between October 1 and December 31. The Accessories Council provided category finalists and winners with promotional tools for use at the wholesale and retail levels to market their products to consumers.
Voting for the final winners was open to everyone on accessoriescouncil.org from August 5th 2019 through August 23rd, 2019. Two categories — the Hall of Fame and NPD Award—were determined by The Accessories Council Board and NPD statistical data, respectively. The winners in those particular categories were announced on August 5.
The Accessories Council is a not-for-profit international trade association established in 1994. Its mission is to stimulate consumer awareness and demand for fashion accessory products. The Accessories Council serves the industry globally, which generates over $54 billion dollars annually in the United States alone.
