This Podcast is in Partnership with Transitions

What are the biggest trends in eyewear fashion in 2020? We sit down with Charlotte Hamel, Global Director of Communications, Events and PR at Transitions Optical and Dr. Melanie Denton, founder and owner of Salisbury Eyecare and Eyewear in Salisbury, North Carolina in this podcast. We talk about what you need to do to refresh your optical and provide your patients with a unique and customized eyewear styling experience that delivers in both fashion and function. 

Hamel has worked in marketing for over twenty years, starting out in marketing at L’Oréal and then going on to help relaunch the Coach license in 2012. After working with marketing of several niche eyewear lines, including DITA Eyewear, she joined Transitions Optical in 2017 to work on accelerating the development of the brand. 

Dr. Denton graduated optometry school in 2009, completed a residency, and then opened a cold-start practice in 2016 in Salisbury, North Carolina. She’s found that opening on her own has allowed her to create a unique, fashion-forward practice that’s a reflection of her personal identity. “There are so many elements of my personality and my style that are so different from other practices in my area, but I’ve been able to incorporate all of that in starting my practice.” 

Dr. Melanie Denton, founder and owner of Salisbury Eyecare and Eyewear

Hamel shares that the biggest trend across all of fashion right now is color. Where a decade ago most designers were embracing black and white minimalism, the digital world we live in has introduced us to a vibrant playground of enhanced hues and saturated tones. “The power of Instagram is bringing a new, younger demographic to the center of the fashion world. Instagram is about enhancing light and colors, and we’re seeing vibrant colors like never before.” All of the trends in terms of eyewear are very reflective of the greater fashion industry shift towards color. Vivid hues like emerald green and sapphire blue are top trends of 2020. 

Dr. Denton agrees that the digital lifestyles our patients lead have greatly changed ocular complaints, as well as fashion trends. She’s prescribing much more for digital eye fatigue and light sensitivity than when her career began a decade again. In her practice, she’s found even in a small community that embracing fashion-forward, independent eyewear has let her stand apart. The highest compliment from a patient was when someone said, “This is where the cool kids get their glasses.” She often hears doctors balk at introducing color and interesting shapes and styles into their optical because they are concerned their patients won’t be willing to branch out from their basic frames. She’s found that offering broader selections in shapes and colors has excited her patients about shopping for eyewear, and driven much more interest in her optical.

Prescribing for color and function in ophthalmic lenses is also a great way to offer patients a uniquely customized experience. “Transitions® lenses bring light and something very dynamic into a very static object which are frames. We also bring customization,” Hamel says. “Optometrists have been customizing each pair of frames for each of your patients for decades. At Transitions Optical, we want to empower every eyecare provider to customize even more, and a few years ago, we launched Transitions® Signature® style colors and