SILMO d’Or 2026

A Jury Presidency Shaped by Design, Technology and Emotion

For the 2026 edition of the SILMO d’Or 2026, SILMO Paris has appointed Brussels-based industrial designer and creative director Joachim Froment as President of the Jury.

It is a choice that reflects the growing dialogue between contemporary design, technology, emotion, and the future of optical innovation.

As eyewear increasingly evolves beyond pure function into a field where identity, materials, sustainability, and technology intersect, Froment’s multidisciplinary approach feels remarkably aligned with the direction contemporary optics is taking.

Joachim Froment SILMO d’Or Appointment Signals a Contemporary Vision

A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, Joachim Froment has built an international reputation through a creative philosophy shaped equally by engineering precision and artistic sensitivity. His work consistently explores the relationship between people, objects, and the environments in which they exist.

After beginning his career in Copenhagen alongside prominent Scandinavian designers, Froment co-founded Futurewave, a design and technology studio collaborating with companies including Renault, LVMH, Richemont, and pioneering technology brands. Through these projects, he developed a vision where design moves beyond aesthetics alone and becomes a tool for interaction, experience, and emotional connection.

He often describes his philosophy as a “symbiosis between poetry and industry,” a concept that resonates strongly within the optical world, where the most compelling eyewear designs increasingly combine technical mastery with personal expression.

SILMO d’Or 2026 Explores the Future of Design and Innovation

What makes Froment’s appointment particularly relevant for SILMO d’Or 2026 is his ecosystemic approach to design. Rather than viewing products as isolated objects, he approaches them as part of larger systems involving users, materials, sustainability, and long-term interaction.

Across furniture, mobility, lighting, and consumer electronics, his work consistently reflects a sculptural yet human-centered design language. That approach has earned him several prestigious international distinctions, including iF Design Awards, Good Design Awards, and Core77 Awards.

For SILMO Paris 2026, this appointment reinforces the fair’s ambition to remain at the forefront of contemporary optical culture. The industry itself is currently navigating major transformations driven by material innovation, smart technologies, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and changing consumer expectations. Increasingly, eyewear is no longer judged solely by appearance, but by the experience and meaning it creates around the wearer.

Through the SILMO d’Or, SILMO Paris continues to celebrate creations that challenge convention while encouraging new conversations between craftsmanship, innovation, and human experience.

SILMO Paris 2026 Begins Here

Joachim Froment’s cross-disciplinary perspective is expected to guide a jury process focused on creations that push the boundaries of innovation while shaping the uses and interactions of tomorrow’s optical world.

TEF Magazine editor Maarten Weidema is once again honored to serve as a member of the SILMO d’Or jury for the 2026 edition, joining an international panel of experts tasked with recognizing some of the most forward-thinking creations in contemporary optics.

The nominees and winners of the SILMO d’Or 2026 will be revealed during SILMO Paris, taking place from September 25 to 28 at Paris Nord Villepinte.