Celebrating design at Silmo d’Or awards 2025

The Silmo d’Or awards 2025 recognised excellence in eyewear design across categories including optical, sunglasses, sports, and children’s frames.

The winners were announced during the Silmo event in Paris on 25–28 September.

Rodenstock took home an award in the Vision category for its B.I.G Exact Sensitive lens, customised to the individual’s visual sensitivity and biometrics.

Dr Dietmar Uttenweiler, executive vice president of research and development and innovation at Rodenstock, said: “Winning in an exceptional competitive environment affirms our ongoing commitment to pushing the boundaries of lens innovation.”

Find out more about the lens through OT’s interview with Jason Halsey, product and training manager for Rodenstock UK.

In the Sport category, evil eye eyewear was recognised for its ‘Speedsense’ rimless frame. The model features a unique lens locking system, with integrated lever mechanism to allow athletes to change lenses quickly and safely. A tension bar also ensures a perfect fit and ventilation.

Susanna Kumpfmüller, brand director of evil eye, commented: “We are delighted to have won the Silmo d’Or 2025 in the sports eyewear category. This award is a powerful symbol for us, confirming our innovative strength and reinforcing our passion for developing sports eyewear that meets the needs of athletes and sports enthusiasts.”

EssilorLuxottica was awarded in the Smart Eyewear category for the Nuance Audio hearing solution glasses for people with mild to moderate hearing loss, while QED Eyewear took home the accolade for Technological innovation in eyewear with its ‘Phi’ frame based on patented fastening system that can be quickly assembled and disassembled, is reusable and waste-free.

Tag Heuer was recognised in the Optical frame labels category for the ‘Line’ frame, which combines a multitude of materials including Dyneema, a bio-nylon carbon frame, titanium bridge, and cork sleeves.

The Sunglasses frame labels category was awarded to Yohji Yamamoto for the ‘YYSUN502’ model, with a microperforated metal bridge and gold or silver rim highlighting gradient lenses.

The brand, Manti Manti, received an award in the Children category for its ‘3D collection,’ combining sustainable PA11 made from castor beans with 3D printing for ultra-lightweight, flexible and durable frames.

The Optical frame eyewear designer category recognised Dzmitry Samal for the dynamic polygon frame ‘Luc’ with matte indentations and coloured resin inserts, while Sunglasses eyewear designer went to Design Eyewear Group’s Face à Face for the ‘Flare’ frame.

Vanni received the award for Optical frame, eyewear maker, with its ‘Extra’ collection of thick frames cut from 8mm acetate. Piero Massaro received the accolade for Sunglasses, eyewear maker, with ‘Tramonti di pietra’ – a piece designed to capture the appearance of a sun setting over a stone wall.

In Material and equipment, ACEP was recognised for its Smart Mirror AI, while the Jury’s special prize went to Sapiens for the ‘ER-1813 M’ frame, a concept based on a free design exercise inspired by skulls from human evolution.