In the design & frames areas of Halls C1, C2, and C3, opti will unveil the trends for 2026. Hall C3 will house opti’s newly designed information, knowledge, and networking heart: the opti HUB ARENA. Hall C4 surprises visitors with yet another premiere: TOMORROW VISION, the joint area of nine leading contact lens manufacturers, presenting opticians and optometrists with the great advantages of lenses.
DESIGN. New eyewear trends: In lectures, panel discussions, and tours, eyewear trend researcher Selin Olmsted from New York will explain how materials, design, and technology determine frame trends in 2026. The basis for this is her current Eyewear Trend Report 2026. She will also share her knowledge of the exciting world of augmented reality, virtual reality, and smart glasses. New opti audience award: For the first time, visitors to opti will be able to cast their vote for their favorite frame. The frame with the most votes will be distinguished with the ‘opti FRAME STAR – The Audience Award’. Ideas behind this award: it will increase interaction between exhibitors and visitors, and it will provide a potential buyer trend with a rough indication of where the design journey might take us in 2025. New design: The YES Area in Hall C1 with 100 independent designer brands will once again emphasise opti’s strong design focus in 2025. A focus that will also be emphasised by the presentation of the fourth opti BOX AWARD for the most innovative start-up in the field of frames. The chairman of the jury is yours truly, Daniel Feldman.
OPTICS. The big innovation in this field is TOMORROW VISION in Hall C4 as a joint knowledge and presentation area for the contact lens manufacturers Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision, Hecht, Hetych, Menicon, MPG&E, SwissLens and Wöhlk who have set up their individual stands around their joint area. The aim of TOMORROW VISION is to present opticians with the numerous advantages of contact lenses like how they can attract new contact lens customers, how to provide existing ones with an even better service, and how they can establish and expand the lens as a very profitable business segment. All relevant providers of refraction and diagnostics, as well as lens and machine suppliers, are also located in Halls C3 and C4, which are innovation hubs in their own right. Just take opti VISIONARY in Hall C3, with its start-ups and newcomers showing innovations in the fields of artificial intelligence, software solutions, refraction, diagnostics, and business consulting.
KNOWLEDGE. The information heart of opti beats in Hall C3, bundling four different theme hubs in one large, concentrated opti HUB ARENA. The four HUBs, opti FUTURE VISION HUB, opti MYOPIA HUB, opti NEXT GENERATION HUB, and opti SUSTAINABILITY HUB, form a knowledge marketplace of the highest possible meeting potential for all opti visitors. The topics covered at the hubs in the form of lectures, presentations, or panel discussions range from eyewear trend forecasts, myopia therapy approaches and award ceremonies to the first nationwide vocational school teachers’ meeting and speed dating offers for the NEXT GENERATION. Another advantage of the proximity is that interested parties do not lose any valuable time between the individual events.
NETWORKING. The traffic to and in the opti HUB ARENA stimulates communication and exchange between visitors, promotes networking, synergies and new ideas and, of course, the opportunity to do business. The opti RUNWAY BAR is also the perfect meeting and refreshment area. It is a brand-neutral networking touchpoint for all trade fair visitors and a venue for smaller events. The NEXT GENERATION, i.e. apprentices, trainees, bachelor’s and master’s students, can also exchange ideas in Hall C3 at the opti NEXT GENERATION HUB. This is also where the opti NEXT GENERATION tours start for precisely this generation still in training, who can obtain in-depth information about possible training and further education programs at universities, universities of applied sciences, and other institutions in the cunningly cleverly adjacent positioned opti CAMPUS.
JOY. Last but not least, there will also be plenty of fun and partying at opti. In addition to numerous stand parties, the already legendary opti PARTY opens its gates for all visitors on Friday, 31 January 2025 from 7 p.m. – as long as there is room on the dance floor.
Cathleen Kabashi, head of opti is already thrilled: “The core areas of opti have always been optics and design, a third has emerged in recent years: networking. This has made opti the industry‘s information hub, the networking event, the first of the year, where industry, opticians and other industry experts meet and exchange ideas and, of course, do business. So it seemed only logical to focus innovation on these areas. Some of the many results: a new design award, a new hub concept, and TOMORROW VISION, the new joint knowledge platform of nine leading contact lens manufacturers.”
About opti
opti is the international trade show for optics & design which takes place annually as the industry kick-off in January in Munich. This trade show and networking events offer trade visitors the complete spectrum of ophthalmic products, from spectacle frames and lenses, contact lenses, refraction, diagnosis, and low vision to shopfitting and technical equipment. The early trade show date in the optical year makes opti the ideal location for product premières of international market leaders and start-ups alike. opti was first held in 1998.
