SILMO Paris opened it’s doors for 2026 with a bold statement, THE SEASON STARTS HERE and there couldn’t be a more apt description. From the moment we arrived the energy was electric and we enjoyed every moment! Year on year this event lives up to it’s well earned reputation as THE eyewear event to attend internationally.

For the people that have not yet visited Paris for this amazing event, SILMO Paris takes place over four days and is held at the Parc des Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte, a gigantic group of trade exhibit halls on the outskirts of Paris and just one stop on the train from Charles De Gaulle International Airport. You can use public transport (bus or train) with direct connections into central Paris and the airport as mentioned. We typically stay in central Paris as we have for many years and travel out to the event each day on the Metro and RER which takes between 30-45 minutes each way. Each evening brings us back to Paris to take in every bit of the atmosphere and culinary delights of this remarkable city.

My son, Keegan, came along for his first trip to Europe this time and I really enjoyed the opportunity to see Paris through his eyes. He’s on a fairly tight college schedule so we had to move our dates around a little so we decided to arrive the weekend before which turned out to be perfect as the weather was spectacular all week.

We set off around Hall 7 where all the independent brands and designers tend to be, catching up with many friends and visiting some brands we had not seen before. That is the infinite beauty of SILMO because finding those niche little collections is part of the adventure. I really love spending time in the Village Start Up area where many new brands get their international debut. We also found many of our fellow media folks along the way and were able to spend some quality time with many.

The SILMO mission for us is to represent Luxury Eyewear Forum in our media partnership with SILMO for the fourth year running. The aforementioned Hall 7 is where we spent most of our time as nearly all of our favorite luxury and designer brands and LEF media partners are located in this space. We were blown away with many of the new booth designs at this year’s event. There’s always so much to look at that it can be a bit overwhelming for anyone visiting for the first or even second time.

SILMO is the one fair that I find best for making new connections. Not only did we find all our favorite Aussies but we managed to make new friends from all different parts of the globe. For my son particularly, he enjoyed meeting so many people who have watched him grow up online. He didn’t realize just how large a community that we eyewear nuts belong to. That spirit of friendship and connection is another reason SILMO works on many different levels.

The organizers of SILMO 2026 deserve applause yet again for an outstanding event. We loved all the food options both inside the halls and outside. As I mentioned, the weather was absolutely spectacular all week so it was great to see so many people mingling in the outside areas This happy weather vibe was perpetuated inside as well as everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

A goal for us at SILMO Paris is visiting with many of the brands that are sponsors of Luxury Eyewear Forum and meeting with our European press contacts. We spoke with many owners and designers that we work with and who are active on our forum and in the wider North American market. I again found that the international trade frustrations with the USA are still high on the agenda for many companies and especially the smaller ones. Even for small retailers the situation is becoming even more challenging as wholesale prices to ship to the USA are getting steeper every month causing a number of small companies to stop shipping product completely. Combined with the added pressures of finding decent sales people, small distributors in the USA are under enormous pressure on price and shipping costs. We spoke with a couple of independents who have basically given up on trying to maintain a US presence until the situation hopefully changes in the future.

We also spent quite a bit of time at the Silmo Club which houses the press corps at the event. This private space is where we can go to grab a bite to eat and some refreshments. It’s a great place to meet with other many other press contacts in the industry. The facilities are always excellent with good internet access and seating as well as some work stations where you can sit and begin putting stories together, edit video and images. We used it to recharge our phones and put together some our event videos. It‘s the perfect space for us to send our updates and post to all our social channels “live” from SILMO.

I was once again very honored to be named as one of the press contingent judging the finalsists year’s SILMO d’Or Awards. This is without doubt one of the most enjoyable and interesting parts of our schedule during the event. We got to spend time previewing all of the nominated designs and technologies and were able to see each item close up to discover the intricacies of each design finalist.

The annual SILMO d’Or Awards were held on Saturday night at Pavillon Dauphine in Paris. International Award winning designer, Joachim Froment, was named the president of the jury for 2026. His vision goes beyond human-centered design, advocating instead an “ecosystemic” approach in which products are conceived as essential links within a circular system. From furniture to mobility, from lighting to consumer electronics, his creations are driven by the same pursuit: deepening the connection between the user, the object and its environment. Congratulations to all of the finalists and award winners of this prestigious prize!

Visiting the premier international eyewear event on the eyewear calendar is always a truly amazing experience. If you haven’t yet experienced SILMO Paris then you simply must put it on yours for 2027! Aside from getting the hang of the transport and layout, the rest is just managing your time and making the most of of this amazing opportunity to find new collections and technologies with the added benefit of meeting so many new people from around the world who can match your passion for all things eyewear! It’s really difficult to take a wrong step at SILMO. It is very well organized as I mentioned and it’s so it’s easy to get there and back. The best part is that you’re in Paris and it’s super FUN!

This year we arrived a few days early which I would highly recommend for anyone attending for the first time. Not only is there so much to visit in Paris but also in the wider area surrounding it. Each year we take a little day trip somewhere outside Paris. Last year we went on a champagne adventure to Reims and the year before visited Bruges in Belgium which was one of the best trips. This year we went to a UNESCO World Heritage medieval village called Provins which is about an hour and a half southeast of Paris. We bought an Île-de-France weekly train pass this time around and that covered us on this trip as well as the Metro and RER out to SILMO each day.

Once arriving in Provins we walked about 40 minutes through the lovely little town and up a great big hill to visit the 12th century Caesar Keep and Saint-Quiriace Collegiate Church perched on the crest of the hill overlooking the surrounding vales. We then walked on and around the extremely well preserved medieval ramparts that the town is famous for. It was absolutely stunning! We has some excellent crepes for lunch in the town square on the hilltop and visited the local museum and some more historic churches (as you do), before setting off back down into the town to catch the rain back to Paris. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone wishing to find an interesting day away from the city.

For many years I worked the SILMO event and never took the time to enjoy Paris properly. It was a huge mistake that many other industry people make as well. Definitely spend more time and find your own adventure on your next visit!

Can’t wait for 2027!

* Louis Fullagar is an optician and editor/creator of Luxury Eyewear Forum and owner of Spexaddict a media/marketing agency in the optical industry.

Check out more from the event at silmoparis.com