2014 Vogue Eyewear/CFDA Design Series with Charlotte Ronson
Project Overview
Five years ago, Luxottica and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) set out on a journey to
create a powerful platform to elevate the eyewear category and empower American Designers through
a series of dynamic collaborations with Vogue Eyewear. As a part of the annual reputation campaign, all
participants are required to not have any previous eyewear experience. To further deepen the
relationship between wholesale and retail and to support the core sun business, the first three
collaborations tasked designers with the opportunity to develop a limited edition fashion frame specific
to Sunglass Hut – offering their consumers access to cutting edge designer eyewear at affordable prices.
In its 4th edition, influencer and CFDA member, Charlotte Ronson was selected as the participating
designer for the 2014 ‘Design Series’. Through a series of targeted marketing activities and a strong PR
campaign, her collection for Vogue Eyewear successfully launched this January. Charlotte follows in the
footsteps of previous collaborators including Nanette Lepore, Rebecca Minkoff, Yeohlee Teng, Monica
Botkier, Devi Kroell, Matt Murphy and Kara Ross.
II. Research/Planning
Over 9 months of strategic planning took place between Luxottica, the CFDA and Charlotte Ronson, from
conception of the eyewear designs to the execution of the collection launch. In order to maximize
visibility and build a richer narrative for 2014, preparation took place on a corporate and local level and
engaged multiple departments including public relations, advertising, social media, product and retail.
As a part of the planning process, the following objectives were identified in order to build a deeper and
more comprehensive PR launch:
 Develop a 360 degree PR strategy that encompasses all channels of marketing to generate
awareness and buzz for the campaign.
 Support Luxottica’s corporate objective to develop and strengthen the optical business
 Further cultivate the relationship with Luxottica’s retail network and sales channels, not only
locally but on a global level.
III. Strategy Statement
To support the key objectives, Luxottica worked closely with the CFDA to identify Charlotte Ronson as
the participating designer for 2014. With her impeccable design portfolio and exceptional vision for the
collection, Ronson was the perfect candidate for the program. Building off of the success of the
program’s previous collaborations, an eyeglass style was introduced for the first time ever, in addition to
sun inspired by Vogue Eyewear’s global ambassador, Eva Mendes.
With the introduction of the first eyeglass style, retail distribution was extended to LensCrafters while
Sunglass Hut received the exclusive offering of the sunglass which launched in late-January. With the
strong recognition of both Ronson and the CFDA, distribution will be expanded outside of the US and
will start to deliver in select global markets starting in March. To coincide with the launch, the collection
is featured on Eva Mendes in Vogue Eyewear’s spring/summer International Campaign.
IV. Execution Synopsis
To allow for seamless execution of the plan, key PR activities were defined and carefully timed to build
anticipation and create multiple waves of qualitative coverage. These included:
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Development of strategic press tools to leverage for media opportunities and brand/retail
creative. These included designer sketches, inspirational mood board, eyewear and packaging
still life photography, behind the scenes creative video and photography, press release with
designer and executive quotes.
Design Meeting at Charlotte Ronson’s studio with Eva Mendes to review and document the
creative process behind the eyewear collection for photography and video purposes. Assets
were then used to support press coverage outreach as well as further develop brand and retail
creative.
Collection debut during New York Fashion Week at Charlotte Ronson’s S/S14 runway
presentation to create organic exposure for the collaboration. The eyewear was styled on
models and presented as a full look that was viewed by hundreds of top fashion editors
internationally.
Multi-tiered press launch activation with Charlotte Ronson to engage editors and influencers in
the US as well as internationally. The four part launch included:
- Long Lead PR Dinner–October 2013: To strengthen the relationship with key long lead print
editors and build deeper, brand feature coverage, the collection was introduced during an
intimate dinner in NYC with Charlotte Ronson and her muse, Eva Mendes.
- West Coast VIP Event –January 2014: To align the brand with key influencers and build
excitement for the upcoming launch, Vogue Eyewear and Charlotte Ronson celebrated the
collaboration with a preview in Beverly Hills.
- Short Lead Retail Event –January 2014: To support the retail launch of the collection,
Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters hosted a short lead press event in NYC with Charlotte Ronson
- International PR Launch – February 2014: To introduce the 1st international collection for
the program, an intimate PR launch will take place during Paris Fashion Week that will be
attended by global press, VIPs and influencers.
V. Results
While the full results will not be finalized until the end of 2014 as the program continues to roll out
internationally, the launch has already made a powerful introduction in the US and continues to pick up
momentum. Public relations results to date include:
 OVER 150 MILLION media impressions totaling nearly $3 MILLION in ad value including top hits
from Cosmopolitan, WWD, Star magazine, Style.com, Yahoo! Shine, Luckymag.com,
Glamour.com, La-confidential.com and more
 Through a strong social media campaign, the news has been shared OVER 365 times across
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook reaching OVER 21 MILLION with top posts from Charlotte
Ronson, Nicky Hilton, Taryn Manning, Elle.com, Glamour.com, Refinery29.com and more
Furthermore, the strategy and program development has helped to support business objectives by:
 Strengthening the ophthalmic business by expanding collection offering to include an eyeglass
style
 Further deepening the relationship with retail by extending distribution to LensCrafters in
addition to Sunglass Hut in the US.
 Introducing the program on an international level by expanding collection distribution outside
the US to select global markets in March 2014.
 Synergizing on a corporate and local level to maximize exposure across multiple channels of
marketing by using PR generated assets across Advertising, Social Media, Brand and Retail
creative