At the heart of Paris Haute Couture week, when the runways are filled with masterpieces of creativity, technique and craftsmanship, Alain Mikli, the eyewear name synonymous with design and provocation, marked the debut of its partnership with Luxottica, whose family it joined in 2013.

The Alain Mikli brand is highly renowned in the eyewear sector for its provocative designs, created to be noticed, not hidden away. Its designer pieces offer the ultimate in comfort, with exclusive patents, frames and nose pads chosen to suit every face to perfection. Their non-conformist style (vision aids? No, sculptures for the face) is a hit with connoisseurs of high-impact eyewear and international pop stars alike. The French-Armenian founder (full name Alain Miklitarian) started the brand in 1978; with a blend of innovative design and artisan research, he has fashioned eyewear which stands out for its unique personality. His classic pieces are designed to last, outliving fads and fleeting trends, with a rare form of originality which has won over Grace Jones, Elton John, Lenny Kravitz and Kanye West, to name but a few. The renowned designer has had the same two obsessions throughout his 30-plus-year career: acetate, his favourite material, which is hand-moulded, sculpted and smoothed to produce unusual yet lightweight, comfortable shapes; and red, the colour of passion and love, often paired with black, as well as checkerboard and stripe patterns. His three decades are epitomised by names which are declarations of intent, such as “Correction and Distinction”; the challenge of this decade lies in bringing together the spirit of perfect eyewear with the designer’s creative flair. 

In 2013 Mikli entered a partnership with Luxottica, which presented their first joint collections to selected journalists and guests in Paris on 9 July 2014. The setting for the debut, Hotel Potocki, a Hotel Particulier located inside the Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 27, avenue de Friedland, provided the ideal setting: a blend of art and design showcasing the new collections through a unique sensory experience, immersing guests in the brand’s unmistakable values and themes. The design installation created for the event was the leitmotif for an “emotional” journey around the world of Mikli and his latest collections. In Paris, with Mikli.