opti Prepares to Showcase 2026 Trends and Innovations Across Design, Optics, Knowledge, and Networking.
opti will showcase 2026 eyewear trends in Halls C1, C2, and C3, with Hall C3 introducing the new opti HUB ARENA for knowledge and networking.
Hall C4 debuts TOMORROW VISION, a joined space featuring nine top contact lens manufacturers presenting innovative solutions for opticians and optometrists.
Visitors can participate in a new opti Audience Award, allowing them to vote for their favorite frame. The most-voted frame will receive the ‘opti FRAME STAR – The Audience Award’. This award is designed to enhance interaction between exhibitors and visitors while providing a glimpse into buyer trends for 2025.
The YES Area in Hall C1, featuring 100 independent designer brands, continues to showcase opti’s commitment to cutting-edge design. This dedication is further underlined by the fourth opti BOX AWARD, which celebrates the most innovative start-up in the field of frames.
The jury will be chaired by Daniel Feldman, renowned blogger and editor-in-chief of ‘The Optical Journal’, a leading platform in the eyewear industry.
“The opti BOX AWARD starts the year by showcasing the hard work and innovation of some of the newest designers and brands in optical. I am honored to be a part of this wonderful award again in 2025, giving recognition to these groundbreaking visionaries.”
Optics Innovations
The key highlight in Hall C4 is TOMORROW VISION, a shared knowledge and presentation area hosted by contact lens manufacturers including Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision, Hecht, Hetych, Menicon, MPG&E, SwissLens, and Wöhlk.
Surrounding their joint area, these companies aim to showcase the advantages of contact lenses, including strategies to attract new contact lens customers, enhance service for existing ones, and grow contact lenses as a profitable business segment.
This years opti will be at the forefront of design innovation, presenting the latest eyewear trends. Eyewear trend researcher Selin Olmsted, based in New York, will offer lectures, panel discussions, and guided tours to delve into the materials, designs, and technologies shaping frame trends for 2026. Her insights are drawn from the Eyewear Trend Report 2026, which also explores augmented reality, virtual reality, and smart glasses.
Knowledge Hub
At the heart of Hall C3, the opti HUB ARENA will bring together four thematic hubs under one roof:
- opti FUTURE VISION HUB
- opti MYOPIA HUB
- opti NEXT GENERATION HUB
- opti SUSTAINABILITY HUB
These hubs will form a dynamic knowledge marketplace, featuring lectures, presentations, and panel discussions. Topics range from eyewear trend forecasts and myopia therapy approaches to award ceremonies and networking events, including a nationwide meeting for vocational school teachers and speed dating sessions for the NEXT GENERATION.
Networking Opportunities
The opti HUB ARENA also serves as a hub for networking, fostering synergies and new ideas. The opti RUNWAY BAR will act as a brand-neutral networking touchpoint, providing a space for refreshments, smaller events, and informal discussions.
For the NEXT GENERATION of industry professionals—including apprentices, trainees, and students—the opti NEXT GENERATION HUB in Hall C3 offers tailored opportunities. From guided NEXT GENERATION tours to the adjacent opti CAMPUS, visitors can explore training and education programs offered by universities and institutions.
A Celebration of Joy
Adding to the excitement, opti will host numerous stand parties and the legendary opti PARTY, taking place on Friday, 31 January 2025, from 7 p.m. The event promises an evening of fun, music, and dancing—ensuring visitors leave with lasting memories.
‘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’.
OPTI Munich 2025
31.01. – 02.02.2025
Fairground Munich, Germany
opti is the international trade show for optics & design which takes place annually as the industry kick-off in January in Munich, Germany.
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Exhibitors
Visitors
The show offers 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. opti is the order platform and the location for product premières by international market leaders and start-ups alike. The event was first held in 1998, and since 2008 has been organised by GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH.
‘We have found a wonderful mix of strong personalities who are all passionate about their optical work, their industry and their favourite trade show, opti! Strong personalities for a strong community! Look forward with us to the beaming faces that will accompany us from now until opti 2025.
With the further development of the WE ARE opti campaign 2024/2025, we want to express the unique atmosphere and further strengthen the sense of community within the optical industry – even outside the exhibition halls.’
As the annual kick-off for the optical industry, opti stands for knowledge exchange and innovation. But above all, it is the atmosphere at opti, the personal encounters and exchanges that make the trade fair something special – for international trade visitors and exhibitors alike. With the further development of the WE ARE opti campaign 2024/2025, we want to express the unique atmosphere and further strengthen the sense of community within the optical industry – also outside the exhibition halls.
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